Joss Sticks and Murder
by kaleen1212
Summary: Ironside's foster daughter, Chong Lee disappears, the evidence points there is a possibility his son-in-law is responsible. Ironside must investigate, and clear or arrest him.
1. chapter 1

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 1

1

Chong Lee slammed the eggs down on the table in front of Kwangsoo Yung. The couple had been married for many years now. It was not well known in the city of San Francisco that she was the foster daughter of Chief Robert T. Ironside. Kwangsoo, on the other hand, was never allowed to forget it. At least that is the way he had come to feel over the years.

He still loved Chong as much as he ever did, but it seemed to him that she put her foster father before him. Living in the United States had certainly "Americanized" his wife, and he had a hard time understanding why she did not follow the traditions of their country. The breakfast she had just placed in front of him was a prime example.

As head of the family, Kwangsoo was responsible for providing the money that would take care of the family. Family ... what family? When he married Chong, he had planned to finish his schooling and start a career with a salary that paid a lot more than the job at the garage working for Joe Markham. Unfortunately, he was taking a lot longer than he had planned. As a result, Chong refused to consider having a child until he had completed his courses. He wanted children and he did not want to wait. It was a source of constant disagreement between them.

San Francisco was an expensive city to live in. When he came to America, he had quickly landed a job working in Markham's Auto Repair. It kept him busy during the day, but he was having problems earning enough money to live as well as save for college. Kwangsoo was lonely. He had left his beautiful Chung Lee behind in their native Korea. He could hardly save any money, let alone afford to bring Chong to America. His friend, Inchull Kim had put him in touch with someone who would loan him the money for Chong's airfare to San Francisco. Kwangsoo had borrowed the money from a loan shark.

When he could not pay it back, he spent his time trying to avoid McCandle. He had only needed more time, yet the man simply demanded it paid immediately. The young man had depended on the dowry from Chong Lee's foster father, Robert Ironside, as was the tradition of his country. He should have seen Chong Lee's "Americanization" had already begun when she was not willing to go to her detective foster father and ask for the dowry. She said he had done much for her already as he had provided her and her family with money over the years to live on. Kwangsoo quickly learned a dowry was not practiced in the United States, nor would his wife-to-be consider asking Robert Ironside to keep with their tradition of providing a dowry.

Chong expected him, however, to keep the tradition of asking permission from her foster father for her hand in marriage. Kwangsoo had been in San Francisco long enough to know the reputation of the tough detective, and did not look forward to asking him. Chong and Fran Belding prepared the dinner as Ironside's staff attended. After dinner, his sergeant and his aide had left the dining room to allow Kwangsoo the opportunity to talk to the detective.

After his future foster father-in-law gave him a rough time, he did give his blessing for the marriage.

Since Kwangsoo could certainly not tell Chief Ironside about how he got the money to bring Chong Lee to the States, he had to continue to avoid the man in hopes that he would find a way to pay back the money. Things were further complicated when he had gone to his boss to ask for an advance on his wages in order to pay off the loan shark. Joe had flatly turned him down. When money came up missing at work, his boss had called the police and told them Kwangsoo had been responsible for the theft.

This of course brought Robert T. Ironside into the picture. Kwangsoo knew Ironside had become suspicious of him when he could not adequately explain the cuts and bruises on his face. He certainly could not tell him they were inflicted by a lone shark trying to collect the money he had borrowed.

Fortunately, Ironside had cleared him of stealing the money at work, which turned out only to be misplaced by his boss. It was never really missing in the first place. His future father-in-law had sent his sergeant just in time to stop another beating on the part of the loan shark and his thugs. They were arrested and Joe did eventually give him that advance.

Everything had been worked out and Ironside did come through with the money for a small reception for the two of them in his office. Later, he would provide the money that sent them on a short honeymoon.

Kwangsoo had been so happy in the beginning. However, things did not go as he had planned. Everyday living expenses were not allowing him to put away any money for schooling. He had to drop his classes down to one or two per semester. Although, he was making headway, he suffered the embarrassment of Chong going to her foster father for financial help on several occasions. He had argued vehemently against it as he was supposed to be the provider. Chong went against his wishes and did so anyway.

It had caused much tension between Kwangsoo and Robert Ironside, not to mention he and Chong argued constantly about it. Despite all this, he wanted to start a family. If they waited until he was completely through school, it would be years before the children would come. Chong was dead set against it. She wanted to wait.

Although, his foster father-in-law never put pressure on him, in fact he offered on many occasions to help him with his college tuition; Kwangsoo was too proud to accept his help. Actually, if he were honest with himself, he resented Robert Ironside's interference in what he believed should be his and only his responsibility.

"Kwangsoo, are you listening to me?" Chong said sharply.

"Yes, I am listening," he said, knowing his mind had wandered elsewhere.

"Please be polite to my father. He is only trying to help us."

"It is not his place, Chong, it is my responsibility to take care of my family. He should not interfere." His tone was harsher than he had intended. His nerves were raw where Robert Ironside was concerned.

"When will you accept we are now in America. It has many more different traditions. Parents help their offspring in this country," she reminded him.

"Have you forgotten the traditions of our people? You were quick to expect me to follow the tradition of asking your father for your hand in marriage. Do you only follow the traditions that suit you, Chong?"

"That is not fair. I follow our traditions!" she argued.

"Then why are you working as a waitress in that restaurant? It is my place to take care of you. Do you not understand it makes me feel less of a man when you try to fill my role?"

"Women in this country work all the time. You know we need the money. I am only trying to help my husband complete his studies."

"That is not your place, Chong. You would never have done so back home," he countered.

"Back home! When will you realize this is America? We can keep many of our traditions, but we must also respect those of a country that has given us such opportunity," she said angrily.

"Opportunity? What opportunity? We are living like poor people. We would be much better off if we returned to our homeland," Kwangsoo claimed.

"How can you say that, Kwangsoo? Maybe you would feel differently if you had to wonder where your next meal was coming from. If it had not been for my father, my family may very well have starved."

"Ironside, I am so tired of hearing how generous and caring he is. I am your husband. You should do as I say," he complained.

"Do as you say? We are a partnership, Kwangsoo!" She raised her voice as much as she ever did when she was upset during their arguments, which was not very much.

"Partnership! It is tradition for the wife to obey the husband in our country." He was snapping at her again, which he regretted, though he knew her willingness to adopt to American traditions more each day was the source of their problems. And where was she getting it? From her American foster father. Kwangsoo was jealous of the influence the Yankee detective had on her. She seemed to listen to him more than she did Kwangsoo himself.

Chong could no longer contain her temper. She raised her voice to an almost shout. "This is our country! If you do not wish to live as an American, then maybe you should go back and live in our native land!"

He reached for her, but she pulled away from him. Grabbing her coat and purse, she headed for the door. "I am going to be late for work. Please be ready to go to my father's for dinner when I return." She went out the door and slammed it behind her.

2

The door to Ironside's office opened and Robert Duvalier entered. It had been awhile since he had seen his father. He had been looking forward to this for some time. It was only recently that his father told him of his foster sister. Robert was an only child, so the thought of having a sister excited him.

Ironside turned his head to see his son enter the office. A big grin spread across his face. "It is about flaming time you show up around here!"

Robert grinned back at his father, walked over to him and put out his hand. "Hello, Papa. I have been looking forward to this visit."

Ed, Mark and Fran walked over to greet their boss's son. After shaking hands with his father, Robert did so with Mark and Ed. Looking at Fran, he said, "I do not believe that we have met before."

"I am Fran Belding. I also work for Chief Ironside."

Robert looked around the office, but did not see the person he was looking for. Turning his attention back to his father, he asked, "And Officer Whitfield?"

"My pretty policewoman decided to take vacation time and go to Europe with her parents. I think she misses that high society life," Ironside told him. He pointed at Fran and explained, "Officer Belding worked with my office for about four years while Officer Whitfield was on a leave of absence. Fran still works with our office whenever we need her. Since Eve is in Europe, Fran will be working for us until she returns."

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Belding," Robert said with a slight bow.

"Please, call me Fran."

"Fran," Robert said in acknowledgement. Turning his attention back to his father, Robert sat down beside him. "I cannot believe it took you all this time to tell me that I had a sister."

"She is my foster daughter. I sent money overseas to support her family. A lot of people sponsor those overseas that need help."

"Still, you did not tell me until you extended this invitation."

Ironside recognized Robert was correct. As busy as Chong Lee was, he simply did not see her often. Mostly, she contacted him by phone. When she did come to see him, it was normally alone. Kwangsoo rarely joined her. Ironside got the feeling his son-in-law had trouble with the financial help that he extended the two of them. Yet, he could not allow Chong to go without.

"Well, you are here now. She and Kwangsoo will be joining us for dinner tonight. If it is any consolation, she does not know about you either."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell her that you have a son?"

"First of all, I don't see her that often. Secondly, I don't see you that often either. In fact, if I want to hear from you, I normally have to call you."

Robert smiled. He knew his father was right. His work at the Academy and the police station in Montreal kept him rather busy. By the time he thought of calling his father, it was usually too late to do so. It did make times like this even more enjoyable. Since he had found out that Robert Ironside was his father, the two of them had actually grown quite close. They may not have spoken to each other as often as they would liked, but Robert thought of him often as he was sure his father did him as well.

"Well, I am here now," Robert said, echoing his father. "Tell me what my foster sister is like?"

Ironside smiled. "She is a beautiful young lady with a good head on her shoulders. I don't think she has decided yet what she would like to do with her future, but I have no doubt when she does, she will be very successful."

"Sounds to me like someone I can become very fond of," Robert said sincerely.

"I thought it was time the two of you met," Ironside told him.

"What is her husband like?" Robert watched as the expression on his father's face changed. Sometimes, his father was extremely hard to read. He could maintain that poker face that did not allow any insight into what he was thinking. This time, Robert knew something was wrong. Rather than ask his father, he would wait until he was ready to talk about it.

"He has been going to school since they married. He works in a vehicle repair shop."

Robert could hear the disapproval in his father's voice. He would certainly pay close attention when he met his sister's husband at dinner tonight.

Mark brought in sandwiches and soft drinks. He set them on the table in front of his boss. Ironside indicated for Robert to help himself. Fran and Ed join them at the table.

Despite being told to help himself, Robert waited for his father to begin. Once each of them had sandwiches and colas in front of them, Fran spoke up.

"Chief, why don't you tell Robert what you are going to propose to Chong when she arrives tonight."

Robert turned his attention away from Fran and back to his father. "Well?"

"For years, Chong has considered me her foster father. I think it is about time I actually become her father, Ironside said.

As he chewed his sandwich, Robert looked at his father in confusion. "I don't understand. What does that mean?"

"The chief is going to officially adopt Chong as his daughter," Fran said excitedly.

Ironside looked over at her and shook his head. "I thought you told me to tell him."

"You're too slow Chief," she said with a grin. "I could not help myself."

Ed and Mark chuckled. "The chief is going to tell her when she comes tonight. If she agrees ... " Ed told him before Ironside interrupted him.

"What do you mean if she agrees?" Ironside demanded indignantly.

"Well, after all, Chief, she may not want to be adopted," Fran pointed out.

"And why not?" Ironside said.

"Maybe Robert would be in a better position to answer that," Mark laughed.

Robert put his hands up. "Don't bring me into this!" He laughed despite the look on his father's face.

Ironside grumbled at his staff. "Aren't you people on the city payroll?"

Fran and Ed smiled as they got out of their chairs and headed out of the office. Mark still had a grin on his face. When Ironside noticed, he snarled, "Are you going to leave the dirty dishes on the table until dinner time?"

Sanger got up and began clearing the table. It was all Robert could do to keep from all out laughter.

3

Ever since Donnie Walker took over the loan sharking business, he had been going over the books and collecting from his predecessor's former customers. Until he was able to build his own clientèle, Donnie had to make a living. It didn't matter whether they actually had paid the man off, or not, he could always claim they did not pay all the interest because they were late on their payments. All he cared was the money started to flow in. McCandle had left behind his books that listed all of his customers and where they could be located. It made it so much easier for Donnie, even if he thought the man had been an idiot for keeping records which the cops might find and use to send him to the pen.

Donnie laughed when he thought about McCandle having the misfortune of loaning money to Ironside's future son-in-law. If Donnie were to be honest, it would not have stopped him from collecting from him either, but he would have been much smarter about it. You didn't mess with Ironside. Too many people made the mistake of underestimating the crippled cop. He was dangerous, and if you were going to go up against him, you had to be smarter than he was.

He looked through the book that McCandle had left behind. Adding up the totals of those that had not paid off their debts, it was not enough money to live on. He would have to collect interest from those that had completed their payments. Donnie didn't care whether they had paid off. The whole idea of the business was to create a steady source of income. Keep them paying. Never let them off the hook once you had reeled them in. Glancing down the list, he spotted the name he was looking for. Kwangsoo Yung. In checking, he had found out that Ironside's daughter was actually some foreign born girl he had sponsored. He liked it when the customers had wives. He could always use their women against them. That is what he intended to do with Ironside's son-in-law if necessary. He could not take the chance Yung would go running to the crippled cop the first chance he got. Donnie would make sure he said nothing. He would not seek Ironside's help if he was holding Kwangsoo's woman. Donnie had it all figured out. Soon he would put his plan in action.

I do not own the Ironside characters. They are the creation of Collier Young. All other characters were created in my mind to tell the story. Thanks for reading!

*This story is based on the episode, "Joss Sticks and Wedding Bells."

*Robert Duvalier is a character from "Check, Mate and Murder!"

You may want to read "Checkmate and Terror." In my timeline, it explains how Robert Duvalier is revealed as Ironside's son.


	2. Chapter 2

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 2

1

Kwangsoo Yung left the repair shop where he worked. He was not looking forward to dinner at his father-in-law's office. He was tired of the detective interfering with his marriage. Just because he had married his foster daughter did not give him the right to constantly give money to Chong. It was his job to take care of her. She needed to learn to live on what he provided for her and not accept money from her father.

Her father had encouraged her to take a job to help out. He pointed out to her that American women went to work to share the financial responsibility quite often. Kwangsoo did not want his wife working. Their financial security was his job, not hers. He would eventually make more than enough money to support her. When he asked her father for her hand in marriage, he had demanded to know how he was going to support her. Why did he want to know if he would be telling her it was alright for her to go to work?

The problems they were having financially were only temporary. Once he was finished with his schooling, he would be able to land a job that would provide them with plenty of income. She had only to be patient.

Kwangsoo headed down the street. He began to walk home. He was still walking where ever he had to go. The young man would take the trolley car or a taxi, when he could afford it. With his mind on his troubles, Kwangsoo did not see the two men that were following him. As he got closer to home he took the shortcut through the alley that led to the back of his apartment. Not hearing the two men come up behind him, they shoved him into a tall privacy fence.

"You are Kwangsoo Yung?" the taller man asked.

Kwangsoo answered reluctantly "Yes, why?"

"Does the name Donnie Walker mean anything to you?"

"No. I do not know such a man," Kwangsoo replied.

"Well, you do now. He is the man you owe money to," the man said.

Confused, the young man shook his head. "I don't owe anyone any money."

"You borrowed money from McCandles, remember him?"

"I paid that money back with the advance my boss gave me on my salary."

"Not according to his books. You see Donnie Walker is now in possession of those books. It says you owe him $3000.00. Now since Donnie has them, your debt has been transferred to him. He is calling that debt due. So you need to pay up."

"But I don't owe any money; I paid that debt. It was not that much money."

"Well it is now," the tall curly-haired man said.

"I am not paying money I don't owe," Kwangsoo insisted.

The man doubled his fist and slugged him in the stomach. The other man who had not said anything, grabbed him, pulling his arms behind him as his partner continued to land blows in Kwangsoo's stomach. When they thought he had had enough, they let go, and he dropped to the ground.

"If you know what is good for you, you will come up with the money. You have one week; one week, and we will be back. And don't go running to Ironside. If you do, we will kill your wife." The shorter man kicked dirt in Kwangsoo's face and the two of them left him.

His ribs and stomach pained. For a moment, all he could do was lie there. Waiting for the pain to lessen, Kwangsoo closed his eyes. Would he ever stop paying for that mistake. He never should have borrowed money from a lone shark.

He slowly got to his knees and pushed himself to his feet. Stumbling, he headed for their second story apartment. Kwangsoo walked up the steps , holding the railing with one hand and his stomach with the other. As he reached the door, he straightened so that Chong would not see the pain he was in. He could not involve her in this. He had to protect her from Donnie Walker, whoever he was.

He opened the door and walked in. Chong immediately came to him. She smiled when she saw her husband. Going to him, she put her arms around him and hugged tightly. Kwangsoo winced but successfully kept her from knowing that what she just did caused him considerable pain.

"Kwangsoo, I am so sorry for what happened this morning. I don't want to argue. I know you are doing the best you can. I just want to help you. Please let me help you until you are through school. Then we will talk about starting a family," she said.

Kwangsoo gently pushed her back. He ran his hand down her face. "I don't want to argue either. He kissed her gently. He did not address her desire to help him, it would only start another argument. "I better take a shower. We don't want to be late for your father's dinner."

Chong smiled. "I set out a suit for you."

He kissed her again and then headed for the bathroom. Kwangsoo turned on the shower and removed his shirt. His stomach was already showing signs of bruising. How would he ever keep this from Chong? Removing the rest of his clothes, he stepped into the shower and allowed the water to beat down on him. Kwangsoo would have to cut the shower short if he was going to have Chong on time for her father's dinner.

2

Robert Ironside wheeled over to the table. Inspecting it to be sure Mark had everything just right, he stopped to look at his watch. His daughter and son-in-law were late.

Robert Duvalier watched his father. He could see that he was becoming impatient. If there was one thing he had learned about his father, it was that he expected everyone to be on time, or call if they couldn't. Apparently Chong had not figured that out yet. Somehow, he was sure his father would be easier on Chong than he would be on him if he were late.

Fran walked over to Robert. She had been watching him from across the room. "Don't worry, the room only rises ten-degrees from the steam the chief lets off when someone is late."

Robert chuckled. "What is he like to work for?"

Fran smiled. The chief's son was trying to figure him out. "He's brilliant, of course, but you already know that. I almost feel sorry for any thug who has him on his trail."

"How's he treat you?" Robert asked. "I mean as a boss."

"Well, he expects a lot, but at the same time, he cares a lot too. Don't let that rough, gruff exterior fool you. The chief is basically a pussycat." She looked directly at Robert and smiled.

"Who roars like a lion," Robert said.

Fran laughed. "He's demanding, but he is fair."

Robert smiled. "Since the day my mother introduced him to me, I found him fascinating, not that I liked him at first. He is English after all."

"So are you, at least half English," Fran pointed out.

"Please, don't remind me. My French half hates it when someone points that out," he said with a grin.

Ed joined them. "Mark said if they don't get here pretty soon, the entire dinner is going to be overcooked."

"Oh that's nice," Robert said. "I don't care for Chinese food when it is cooked correctly; now you tell me it is going to be overcooked? Do you know what Chinese food taste like when it is overcooked?"

"Rubber," They all said together.

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when there was a knock on the door. Mark headed up the ramp as he called out, "I'll get it." When he arrived at the door, he opened it. Chong and Kwangsoo entered the chief's office residence. They greeted Mark and walked down the ramp to an awaiting Robert Ironside.

Kwangsoo could read the impatience in his father-in-law's eyes. His ribs and stomach were hurting so badly that he had to slow down to ease the pain. It had cost him precious time. Despite Chong knocking on the bathroom door several times, reminding him they were going to be late, he took his time. He had no choice as the pain in his ribs was more than he could bare.

Walking over to Ironside, Kwangsoo said, "Forgive our tardiness, Father, it is my fault. I worked later at the repair shop than I had intended. I should have paid more attention to the time."

Ironside caught the look Chong had given her husband. It told the detective his son-in-law was not being honest as to why they were a half-hour late. He reached out his hand to Kwangsoo, but the young man did not shake it. He simply bowed toward the detective.

Chong gave her husband a look of disapproval. Ironside could detect some tension between them. He deduced there had been an argument between them from the frosty way they were with each other.

"Welcome. It is about time the two of you visit," Ironside said.

"I am sorry, Father. We both have been busy with our jobs, and yours does not exactly allow us to visit at any time," Chong said. She bent down and kissed Ironside's cheek."

He took her hand, and at the same time, turned his chair towards Robert. "Chong, I would like you to meet my son, Robert. He is from Montreal, Canada. He is a police officer."

A big smile broke across her face. "Father, you did not tell me I have a brother!" She excitedly walked over to Robert and put her arms around him. "I am so happy. I have an American brother!"

Robert smiled, but corrected her. "Canadian, French Canadian."

"No matter," she said. "Brother... am so happy to meet you." She looked back at Kwangsoo, who had not moved. Her expression turned to a warning glance, which was also noticed by Ironside as well as his staff.

"Robert, my husband, Kwangsoo Yung."

Finally, Kwangsoo walked over to Robert and bowed. "Very pleased to meet you, brother-in-law." He bowed again. Robert was a bit unsure how to react as like his father, he normally shook hands. After hesitating, he bowed slightly towards the husband of his foster sister.

Ironside turned his attention to his friend and aid. "Mark! I think you better put dinner on before it is overcooked."

Kwangsoo lowered his eyes, believing the statement was aimed at him for bringing Chong late for dinner. He didn't seem to be able to do anything to please his father-in-law.

Everyone took their places at the table. Chong chose to sit beside her father on one side, Robert on the other. Mark served the dinner, which turned out to be cooked just right. Robert and Chong carried on a continual conversation questioning and getting to know each other. Ironside noticed that his son-in-law, as Mark would put it, was just a bit uptight. The chief saw him grimace just a bit on two or three occasions when passing food around the table. He surmised the young man was in pain, probably his ribs.

Wondering what was causing the pain, Ironside studied him a bit closer. He had a slight discoloration on the edge of his jaw. He could not help but wonder if Kwangsoo was involved with loan sharks again. Could he and Chong be worse off financially than she had let on to him? Ironside had helped them as much as he dared. He had seen the resentment on Kwangsoo's face every time he gave money to Chong. The chief had tried to respect the young man's feelings. He was fully aware of the customs of the country they were both from. It was Kwangsoo's responsibility to support and take care of his family. Yet, how could he possibly allow them to fall into debt when he had the money to help them?

Ironside was not wealthy by any means, but he did have an investment banker that had made him quite a nice nest egg. He had plenty of money to live on for the rest of his life. The chief could easily share some of that money with his foster daughter and son-in-law. If only Kwangsoo would realize he was in America now, and it was not uncommon for parents to help their grown children.

That brought up another question in his mind. How would Kwangsoo react to him wanting to legally adopt Chong. He wanted her to be his legal daughter and not just his foster daughter.

Everyone talked through dinner. Robert and Chong talked extensively about their lives and how they came to know Robert Ironside. Only when someone interrupted them did they turn their attention away from one another. Ed, Fran and Mark engaged both of them in conversation, telling them stories about their father. Everyone laughed at Ironside's expense. He did not mind though, he even laughed with them.

Only Kwangsoo was quiet. It had not escaped Ironside. Something was bothering his son-in-law. He wondered if he should try to talk to him. Yet, he knew Kwangsoo seem to resent any suggestions or help which he offered him. Ironside was concerned how he was going to take what he was about to say, but he was going to do it as it had become important to him.

"Chong, I have something I would like to talk to you about," Ironside told her. He wasn't sure he was going to be able to draw her away from Robert. The two of them were getting along extremely well.

"Yes, Father, what is it?"

"You consider me your father?"

"Of course, I do. You have always been there for me," Chong said.

"In the United States, right now I am your foster father. I would like to make it legal, if it is what you wish," Ironside said.

Robert grinned. "I think that is a great idea!"

"I do not understand," Chong said. "Are you not my father?"

"A foster father is someone who steps into that role but is not legal. What the chief is proposing is adoption," Fran said.

"That way he legally becomes your father," Ed told her.

"Is this really necessary?" Kwangsoo said. "Adoption is for children. Chong is not a child."

Chong looked at her husband. She could not believe his comment. "Kwangsoo!"

"I ask a reasonable question," he said, turning to her.

"I think it is a wonderful idea," she told her husband. I would like to make it legal."

"Then I have nothing to say about it?" Kwangsoo asked.

Ironside did not want to be the subject of an argument between them. "Kwangsoo, what is it you find objectionable? Do you not wish to have me as a legal father-in-law?"

"Of course I do not object, sir. I just don't see where it is necessary, that's... all," Kwangsoo said.

"It is not necessary, it just makes it legal. Chong becomes my legal daughter and that opens other legal possibilities," Ironside explained.

"Since I don't have anything to say about it, I see no reason to discuss it. Chong is free to do so if she chooses," Kwangsoo said.

The room became quiet. Ironside had been afraid of this reaction from his son-in-law. He would allow Chong to make her decision. It didn't take her any time at all.

"I would be honored to become your legal daughter!" Chong told him. "When shall we do it?"

"I will take care of the legal paperwork, or rather I will have my brother do it," Ironside said.

"Welcome to the family," Robert said. Smiling at Chong, he reached across his father and squeezed her hand. Chong smiled back at him.

After dinner, Mark cleared the table. Ironside watched as Kwangsoo left the table and headed for the window that the detective quite often looked out. Ironside pushed his chair away from the table. Wheeling over to the window, he settled his chair beside Kwangsoo. He did not look at Ironside.

"Have I done something to offend you?" Ironside asked him.

"No, sir. It is just that I should take care of Chong." He still did not look Ironside in the eye.

"I would say you are doing a good job of taking care of her. She is in good health, has a home and a husband who loves her."

"But I have not been a good provider."

"I would not say that, Kwangsoo. I know you have money problems. It has slowed down your schooling, but that doesn't make you a bad provider. America is different from where you lived. Kwangsoo, I would like to help you, if you would let me. I can help with your education expense. You could finish your education faster and then you would be able to take care of Chong without anyone's help. You are not any less a man because you need help, Kwangsoo. Many young people need the help of their parents until they can get on their feet." Ironside waited for his son-in-law to respond.

"I do not want your help, sir. I will take care of my family. It is the way of our people."

"Kwangsoo, your people are now Americans. I respect that you want to do it on your own, but in turn, you must respect the customs of the American people. Something is wrong, I could see that all evening. Let me help you. What is bothering you?" Ironside asked.

"Nothing is bothering me," he said. "We should join the others." He left the window and went back to where the others were gathered.

When Kwangsoo Chong left for the evening, Ironside dismissed his staff. Robert and Mark were the only ones left. Robert studied his father. "Something is troubling you, Pappa?"

Ironside smiled. "We'll make a detective out of you yet. Did you notice..."

"Notice that Kwangsoo seem to be uptight all evening. He hardly spoke a word."

The chief smiled again. "Exactly. Robert, I also noticed that you and Chong got along rather well."

"After all, she is my sister, well foster sister. I want to get to know her. I have never had a sister before."

Ironside rubbed the stubble on his chin. "I would like you to continue to get to know her. See if you can find out what is bothering Kwangsoo. He refused my help tonight, but I could tell something is deeply bothering that young man. He brought Chong over here with the money he borrowed from a loan shark. I want to know if he is involved with loan sharks again."

"Am I supposed to find out as a cop or a brother?" Robert asked with amusement.

"Both. Just find out," Ironside said.


	3. Chapter 3

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 3

1

Chong was completely silent on the trip home. Kwangsoo knew he was in big trouble with her and he knew why. He objected to her being adopted by Robert Ironside. He already had too much influence with her. If he was officially her father instead of just her foster father, who knew how much more influence he would have. Maybe it was time they moved out of San Francisco. If he could put some distance between them, then maybe he could stop this American influence. He did not like the way she was adjusting to American customs.

He had moved here for the opportunities, not to change his way of life. Kwangsoo had known he could get a better education in America. Never could he have had the opportunity to go to school in his home country. He would have had to follow in his father's footsteps and work for him. Kwangsoo could not face doing what his father had done all his life. He wanted to build things. He came to the right country, but he did not want to be American. Their customs did not respect the man being in charge of his family, and he wanted to be in charge.

Right now, it seemed Robert Ironside was in charge of his family. He should have known if he stayed here, the detective would have a profound effect on Chong. Yet, he was at a loss to know what to do about it. Kwangsoo wanted to finish his education, get a job and support his own family. He wanted a family and he knew Chong would never agree to it until he was established.

Kwangsoo pulled into the alley behind their apartment. He got out of the vehicle and went around to open the door for his wife. She was already out of the car and headed for the steps they had to climb to get into there apartment. At least this was one place Robert Ironside could not come. The stairs were the only way up to the apartment. Kwangsoo did not have to endure evenings with him visiting them. It simply was far too difficult for him to get up those stairs, even with help.

Once they climbed the stairs, Kwangsoo reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. After unlocking the door, he opened it, stepped back and let Chong enter in front of him. The young man watched as she headed right for the bedroom. Kwangsoo stood there for a minute and then decided he might as well get it over with. There was going to be an argument; there was no avoiding it.

He walked through the kitchen, went down the hall and entered their bedroom. Chong was already out of her clothes and wearing a nightgown. It amazed him how fast she could change her clothes. "Chong, what is wrong?"

She turned quickly towards him. "How can you ask that? You know very well what is wrong. You treated Father terrible."

"I did not. I don't understand how you can say that."

"I am not surprised." She turned her back on him again.

"Chong, we promised we would not go to bed angry with each other. Please talk to me," Kwangsoo pleaded.

Looking at her husband, she said, "How could you object to my father adopting me? He has done so much for us."

"I don't want him doing anything for us. I am the head of the household. I will provide for us. I just don't see the reason for him adopting you, you are not a child. It simply is not necessary, that's all."

"He wants to become my legal father. I thought it was very thoughtful of him. Then you had to go and spoil it for both of us," she said, her voice raising with every word.

"Spoil it? I don't see how. Am I no longer permitted to voice my opinion in front of your father?" Kwangsoo complained.

She looked at him, but did not answer his question. "What did my father say to you when the two of you went over to the window?"

Turning away from her, he replied, "That was between your father and me. It did not concern you, Chong."

"I don't believe that, not for a minute. Did he offer to help you again?"

"It doesn't matter. I will provide for this family. It is not his place, it is mine," he snapped, not meaning to. He did not want the argument to escalate.

"He did, didn't he? Did he offer to provide the money for your education? He did, I can tell. What is wrong with you? You claim you want to be the provider, but you won't let him help you to become so. You would not have to take classes one at a time if you would let Father help you."

He turned on her quickly and snarled, "I don't want his help. If he had given us a dowry when we were married, we would not be in this position in the first place."

"How many times are you going to bring that up? It is not the custom in this country."

Kwangsoo decided it was as good a time as any to bring up moving. "Chong, I want to move out of San Francisco. There are plenty of schools that I can go to. We would be much happier if we did not have the influence of your father with us constantly."

Her face turned red. "How can you say that? You are just trying to keep me from seeing my father. I am not going to let you do that. We are not moving. I am going to allow my father to adopt me. He is the only real family I have ever known. I am not going anywhere. If you want to go, then you will go without me."

"You must go where I do. That is the way of our people. I make the decisions for this family," he responded.

Chong reached into the closet and pulled out a blanket and a pillow. "This is one decision you have no choice in. My father will adopt me and I will stay in San Francisco." She pushed the blanket and pillow at her husband. "I want to be alone. You can sleep on the couch."

Chong opened the bedroom door and pushed her husband through it. Slamming the door, she ran over to the bed. She fell into the pillow and began to cry. Why was her marriage falling apart? Why did Kwangsoo resent her father so? She could not understand why he could not adapt to America.

Chong closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep

2

Donnie Walker studied the books in front of him. He had been successful in collecting from several people who owed money from the previous owner of the books. He studied Kwangsoo Yung's record. It was clearly marked paid. There was also a note that said not to try to collect anything extra. The name IRONSIDE was written in capital letters. Donnie knew the man was simply scared of Ironside. Walker had come to San Francisco from Chicago. No one there had ever scared him the way Ironside seem to instill fear into the crooks in San Francisco. Donnie had known and heard the name. After Ironside had done the investigation for President Whitmore's murder trial, everyone in the country knew who the man was.

Walker did not care who Ironside was or how good he was; he had not met a cop he could not outsmart. He would still be in Chicago collecting if it were not for the damn winters. He was getting too old to put up with the snow and the cold. When he learned the loan shark in San Francisco had been taken down by Ironside, he packed up and left Chicago without hesitation. Since he had been here for a while now, he knew he had made the right decision. The climate was much more suited for arthritic bones. The city could get chilly in the winter, but nothing like Chicago, and they never saw any snow in San Francisco. This is where he belonged, and after all, he had to make a living. Loan sharking had always been his occupation and he had no intentions of giving it up. Donnie could not make a decent living doing honest work. That was for weaklings, and there were a lot of them in the world.

Ironside was a perfect example of that. Certainly with his rank, he would be at the top of the pay scale at the police department, but so what? How much could that be a year? No doubt it was well under $100,000 a year. There was no way Donnie was going to settle for that. It was peanuts compared to what he made collecting from the poor schmucks, that could not live on the pennies they made in jobs considered honest.

Who decided what was honest anyway, politicians in Washington? Ironside and Mason taking down dozens of them when they cleared the President of murder, which he probably committed, proved Washington was full of crooks. Most of them got away with being crooks as they protected their own. The only reason they got exposed that time was because of Ironside and Mason. Well, Donnie was smarter than all of them put together, including Ironside.

Walker never allowed himself to be tied to the business. He ran a legitimate business. This time he bought a nightclub. It made a modest amount of money, nothing compared to what loan sharking made him. It was nothing more than a front, and of course, it provided him with endless beautiful women. He never hired the ugly ones. Every woman that worked for him was a potential sex partner, and who wanted to take an ugly woman to bed? Not Donnie!

Brian James entered his office behind the club. "Boss, we have a problem."

Walker looked up. "Yeah, and what might that be?"

"Kwangsoo Yung had dinner with Ironside last night," James reported.

"Did his wife go with him?"

"Yeah, she was there."

"She is Ironside's foster daughter. What is unusual for them to have dinner with the cripple?" Donnie asked.

"You don't know Ironside like I do. The man is like a bulldog with a bone. How do we know Yung didn't tell him about us ruffing him up?"

Donnie shook his head. "You are creating a problem before one even comes up. He is not going to tell Ironside. He didn't tell him last time, now did he?"

"No, but this time it is different," James said.

"How is that?" Donnie was beginning to show signs of irritation.

"Ironside helped him out of the mess he got himself into. What's to keep him from running back to him this time?"

"You don't understand the traditions of these people, do you? He will not go running back to Ironside. These people don't like anyone interfering with their personal business. He won't go to the cop, believe me. That is why I decided to squeeze him. Stop worrying, I have everything under control. You just make sure you pay him a visit if he doesn't come through with the money. Don't leave any visible marks on his body. Is that clear?"

"It's clear."

"Okay, then get out of my office."

Brian James stared at him for a moment, then turned and left. This guy was asking for trouble. You just didn't mess with Ironside. Every crook in the city tried to stay under his radar, and this moron was going to wave a red flag in front of an angry bull. Brian wasn't sure he wanted to stick around and continue working for him. The problem was, he had no other source of income and Donnie Walker did pay him quite well. He guessed he would just have to ride it out and hope Walker was right that Yung would not talk to Ironside.

3

Robert Ironside completed his shower and headed for the bedroom to get dressed. Mark appeared in his doorway.

"Do you need any help, Chief?" Mark asked.

"Thanks, Mark, but I can manage," the chief responded.

Mark turned and left. He headed for the kitchen. Robert Duvalier came out of Mark's bedroom. Sanger had given up his room for their guest. "Breakfast is almost ready," Mark informed him.

"What's for breakfast?" Robert called out as he headed for the table.

"Bacon and eggs, but don't tell the chief; he always complains when I serve him eggs," Mark said.

"So then why do you fix them for him?" Robert asked. "They are not good for him anyway. Cholesterol infested. Bad for the heart."

"I can't feed him the same thing every day or he complains about that too."

Robert grinned. "Is there anything he doesn't complain about?"

Mark grinned back. "Bourbon. He never complains about being served bourbon."

Robert got up and went over to where he knew the alcohol was kept. He pulled out a bottle of bourbon, then went to the kitchen and took out a juice glass. Robert took the glass and the bottle over to the table, set the glass down and poured it full of bourbon. He returned the bottle to the cupboard he found it in. Turning to Mark, he grinned again. "I am betting he complains about bourbon today."

Mark shook his head, but had a smile on his face. He was not about to make that bet. "No way, I don't have much money in my pocket now." Mark thought Robert better learn not to push his father's buttons. He said nothing. He dished out the bacon and eggs and placed them on the table. "Chief! Your breakfast is ready!"

Ironside wheeled into the room and took his traditional place. He looked down at his plate. "Eggs again? Don't we have anything else in this place?"

"You had pancakes yesterday and waffles the day before. Today, it's eggs," Mark said.

"I don't like eggs." Ironside reached for the juice glass in front of him. Raising it to his mouth, he smelled it. "Bourbon for breakfast?"

"We figured it would be the only thing you would not complain about," Robert said.

Ironside put the glass back down. "Mark, get me a glass of orange juice."

Mark grinned at Robert. "That's why I would not bet."

Robert could only laugh. He sat down where Mark had set a second plate of bacon and eggs and began eating. He watched his father as he began eating his breakfast. "I thought you didn't like eggs."

"I don't," Ironside growled as he continued to eat the eggs. "I'm hungry." He looked at the table. Something was missing. "Mark, where's the coffee?"

"Coming right up," Sanger called out from the kitchen.

The door to the office opened. Ed and Fran entered at the same time. They walked down the ramp and sat down at the table. Mark brought over a pot of coffee and set several mugs on the table. Fran and Ed helped themselves to the cups and poured coffee into the mugs.

Ironside just stared at his staff. "This is my office, isn't it?" Robert had a smile on his face.

"Sorry, Chief," Fran said as she poured coffee into a mug and handed it to her boss.

"Ed, I want you and Fran to shake down the loan shark that took over the local business. Donnie... Walker. I want to know if Kwangsoo has borrowed any money from him lately. Don't take his word for it. Find a way to threaten him into talking."

"Yes, sir," Brown answered.

"Robert, you are going to take Chong to lunch today."

"Yes, I will call her. I believe she said she got an hour for lunch."

Ironside continued to eat his breakfast. He looked up at his officers and son who were still sitting at the table. With sarcasm he barked, "If it is alright with you good people, I would like it done some time today."

Fran and Ed recognized the tone of the boss's voice. It meant 'Get Moving!' They immediately put their coffee cups down and stood up. Fran dropped her car keys on the table.

"On our way," Fran said. She and Ed were out the door as fast as they could move.

Ironside looked at his son. "Aren't you supposed to have lunch with Chong?"

Robert smiled. "Relax, Pappa, it is a long way from noon."

"Mark, let's go!" Ironside pushed his chair back. Sanger grabbed his jacket and headed for the ramp.

"Where are you going?" Robert called out.

"I going to see my son-in-law and make another attempt to get him to listen to me," Ironside said.

"How am I going to meet with Chong if you take the van?"

"Take Fran's car. The keys are on the table." Ironside said no more as his son watched him leave the office.

After his father left, Robert picked up the phone and called Ted's Restaurant. He waited until the call was answered. "This is Robert Duvalier. I would like to talk to my sister, Chong Lee Yung."

A moment later, he heard the voice of his foster sister. "Hello."

"Chong, this is Robert Duvalier. I was wondering how long you have for lunch?"

"One hour," Chong told him

"Great! How would you like to have lunch with me?" Robert asked.

A very excited Chong exclaimed, "I would love to!"

"What time is your lunch?" "I can take it any time," she responded.

"Then I will be there at noon. See you then," Robert said and hung up the phone.

4

Sergeant Ed Brown and Officer Fran Belding pulled into the parking lot of the Walker Nightclub. Ed shut off the engine and the two of them got out. They headed for the front door. Brown opened it and allowed Fran to enter in front of him.

As all night clubs were, this one was rather dark. Ed wondered why they kept the club so dark during the day. She would think it would be much easier to clean if they could see what they were cleaning.

They entered the main bar and looked for someone to help them. An elderly man was in the corner with a broom. He was moving rather slowly, but seemed to be sweeping up all the dirt in the area.

Ed and Fran walked over to the man. Brown pulled out his detective's badge, opened it and showed it to the gent. Not that it would do much good in this lighting. Ed doubted he could read it anyway. "I'm Sergeant Brown of the San Francisco Police. This is Officer Belding. We would like to see the owner, Donnie Walker."

"He's in his office where he usually is." The old man pointed towards the back of the bar.

The detectives left him to his work and headed to where he indicated they would find Walker. As Fran walked past the bar, she swiped her hand across it and then looked at it. "They certainly would not pass the white glove test." Using both hands, she brushed the dirt off her hand.

"Keep that in mind. We can threaten him with the health department if he gives us any trouble," Brown suggested.

They arrived at the door in the back. Brown turned the knob. It was not locked. He opened it and they entered the back. It was every bit as dark as the rest of the bar. Ed looked at Fran and shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't pay the light bill."

"From the looks of this place, he apparently doesn't believe in spending any money on the business," Fran noted.

"Probably because this is nothing but a front for the real business he carries on."

They continued down the hall until they spotted a door with light underneath it. Brown knocked on the door.

From the other side, they could hear a voice. "For God's sake! Can't you do anything for yourself!" The door was pulled open quickly and a man, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a face that supported a beard and a mustache stood there . "Who the hell are you?"

The sergeant pulled out his badge and showed it to the man. "Donnie Walker?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, what the hell do you want?"

"I'm Sergeant Brown and this is Officer Belding. We would like to talk to you."

"So, get a warrant because I don't want to talk to you," Walker snarled before attempting to close the door in their face.

Brown stepped forward, using his body to block it from being shut. "Maybe you would like to talk to the health department, and maybe we can get your liquor license pulled."

"Why don't you guys go and bust criminals and leave us businessmen alone?"

"Come on Walker, we know you took over the loan sharking business when Chief Ironside arrested McCandle. So why don't you do yourself a favor and cooperate," Ed told him.

Walker stood there for a moment, but finally relented. He opened the door to allow them to enter his office.

Fran noted the office was just as dirty as the bar. There were papers all over the desk, not appearing to be in any kind of order. The drawers of the filing cabinets were open and the files were in disarray It was a wonder he could find anything.

"I don't have all day. I am a busy man. Say what you came here to say and then get out." Donnie went around and sat down behind the desk. He reached over, picked up some papers and turned them up-side-down so the detectives could not see what they were.

"Mister Walker, we work for Chief Robert Ironside," Fran said.

Walker turned around quickly to look at them. "What does Ironside want with me?

"You took over McCandles loan sharking business," Fran said.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I run a night club, strictly legitimate," Walker said.

"Right," Ed said sarcastically. "Look, Walker, we know you took it over. What we want to know is whether Kwangsoo Yung has come to you for money."

"I told you, I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't loan money; I run a night club, nor do I know any Kwangsoo Yung."

"Well then, let us give you a message from Chief Ironside. You stay away from Kwangsoo. He paid up that account. If you try to squeeze him for any more money, you are going to have a problem with Chief Ironside. A problem with the chief means jail. You got that?" Ed got directly in his face.

"I told you, I don't know your man, nor do I loan money to anyone," Donnie pushed his face closer to Ed's. "In fact, I just may file a complaint with the police department. This is nothing but harassment."

"You do that, Mister Walker," Fran said. "We spotted more than one violation in your bar. We will have this place crawling with health department officials. A bar is not of much use without a liquor license."

"The chief just might do it anyway when we tell him what we saw," Ed added. Ed stared Walker directly in the eye before turning around. He headed for the door. Fran followed him. Before they left, he turned back and looked at Walker. "Stay away from Kwangsoo, and you might stay in business a little longer, at least until Chief Ironside catches you at not loaning money," he said with sarcasm. Ed and Fran left his office.

Donnie Walker sat there stewing, getting more angry by the minute. Suddenly, he shouted, "Brian! Get in here!"

A moment later, the door opened and Brian James came through the private entrance. "Yeah, Boss?"

"I just got a visit from Ironside's officers."

Panic showed on James's face. "Didn't I tell you to leave his son-in-law alone? Forget the kid, Boss. Believe me, you don't want to mess with Ironside."

"Shut up! Ironside is nothing but a cripple. Yung was warned about running to him. Apparently, he didn't listen. I want him sent a message. Rough up the wife."

"Are you crazy? She's Ironside's daughter. He will come after us!"

"He can't do a damn thing if it can't be traced back to us."

Brian started shaking. I can't do it, Boss. I can be traced back to you."

"Hire out-of-town talent and make sure they don't know who you are. Got it?" Donnie said.

"Boss, you're playing with fire. Forget it. Let's not mess with Ironside."

Donnie lost his temper and backhanded Brian across the mouth. "Do as you are told! I don't want to hear any more about Ironside. He's a cop. All cops are stupid or they would not be cops. So, do it and do it immediately."

Brian stared at him for a moment and then said, "Alright, but you are going to learn the hard way, you don't mess with Ironside." Before Donnie could react, Brian turned and hurried out of his office.


	4. Chapter 4

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 4

1

Robert Duvalier stopped Fran's car in front of the restaurant Chong worked. He got out of the vehicle and went inside. Chong was at the cash register ringing up a customer. When she finished, she spotted Robert heading her way. A big smile broke across her face. She had been looking forward to this meeting ever since Robert had called her.

Duvalier approached the counter. "Hello, Chong. Are you ready to go to lunch?"

"Yes, I am ready!" Excitedly, she took off her apron and turned to the boss. "I would like you to meet my brother, Robert Duvalier. He is here from Montreal, Canada."

Anthony Cortelli offered his hand to Robert. "Then you must be Chief Ironside's son."

"That is correct," Robert said with a smile. "I thought it would be nice if Chong and I got to know each other."

Cortelli smiled and then told Chong, "Take a long lunch. I'll see you back here in two hours."

"Are you sure?" Chong said. She looked around the restaurant. This was a very busy time for them, and she hated to leave them short-handed for an extra hour.

"I am sure. You will receive your full pay. We will manage." He smiled and headed back into the kitchen.

"Well then, where would you like to go?" Robert asked her.

"Chinatown! They have the best Chinese food in San Francisco," she said excitedly.

Robert smiled. "Chinatown it is then." They left the restaurant and headed for Eve's vehicle.

2

Mark stopped Ironside's van in front of the repair shop. He got out and went around the vehicle to meet his boss on the other side, who was already lowering his wheelchair to the ground in the lift. Mark stepped behind him and began pushing the chair inside the shop.

When Mark spotted Kwangsoo, he began heading in his direction. "No, Mark. Go to the office first. I don't want Kwangsoo getting in trouble for taking time from his job to talk to me. We will get permission from his boss."

Mark turned the wheelchair around and headed for Markham's office. Ironside had not been there since Markham had accused Kwangsoo of stealing money that he had actually misplaced. When he reached the door, Joe Markham stood up from his desk.

"Hello, Chief. Good to see you again. What brings you here? Does your van need servicing?"

Ironside put out his hand and shook Markham's. "No, the van is running just fine," he turned his head and looked at Mark, "despite someone's abuse of it."

Markham laughed. He had known Ironside long enough to know that he liked to tease Mark Sanger. "Well then, what can I do for you?"

"I would like to talk to my son-in-law, if it is alright with you."

Markham frowned. "He is not in any trouble, is he?"

"No more than any other married man," Ironside said.

Markham laughed again. "Isn't that the truth? Go right ahead, but please don't keep him to long; we are behind schedule."

"I won't, and thanks." Ironside turned his chair around, and Mark wheeled him over to Kwangsoo Yung, who was bent over under the hood of a car.

As Ironside approach, Kwangsoo caught the detective out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and stood up. Grabbing a cloth, he began wiping the grease from his hands. The chief could see the look of worry on his face, and he was sure he knew why. "Chong is fine. I just wanted to talk to you."

"I am very busy, Sir. Can this wait until after I get out of work. I don't want to get in trouble."

"I got permission from your boss to speak with you."

Kwangsoo nodded with apprehension. He had no idea why his father-in-law was here, but it could not be good; it never was. Once he finished wiping off his hands, he faced Robert Ironside and waited.

Ironside looked at his aide. "Mark, would you leave us alone, please?" Sanger nodded and walked away.

"Sir, what is this about?"

Ironside had noted from the beginning of Kwangsoo's marriage to Chong that the young man never called him father. He had never told him to, but in America, it was usually automatic. Nevertheless, Ironside could accept being called sir if that is what made Kwangsoo comfortable.

"I know there is major tension between you and Chong right now and I also know that I am some of the source of that tension. It is not my intention to interfere with your position as her husband. I understand and respect your customs, but you must at the same time, respect ours.

"Kwangsoo, I know something is wrong and I want to help." He put up his hand. "I don't want to interfere. I have a proposal for you, which you can accept or turn down. I will respect your decision."

"Proposal? What do you mean?" Kwangsoo asked.

"I would like to help you. I know you are having financial difficulties. I know you feel as the head of the family that it is your job to take care of Chong. I admire that and I want to respect that. So, here is what I propose... "I would like you to accept the money from me that you need for school. Kwangsoo was shaking his head. "Just a minute, let me finish," Ironside said. "I am not proposing that you accept it as a gift. I know you won't do that. What I am proposing is that you accept it as a loan. I will defer payment on the loan until you finish your education, and then you can begin payments to me, with interest." Ironside watched his son-in-law closely for any signs of acceptance.

"I don't know what to say," Kwangsoo said with genuine confusion on his face.

"Say you will accept my terms. It will help you through school faster, and by paying it back to me with interest, you will not be accepting a gift from me."

He stood there not saying anything. Ironside decided to give him time to think about it. "You think it over and let me know your decision. I think this is an alternative solution that allows you to finish school and get you on your feet so you can take care of Chong as you want to. It will help remove some of the tension between the two of you."

"She told you about it?" Kwangsoo asked.

"No, she has not said a word to me."

"Then how did you know?"

"I'm a detective," Ironside responded.

He lowered his eyes. "Of course." He said nothing further, not giving Ironside any indication whether or not he was receptive to the idea. As the chief studied him, he decided to give him a warning. "Kwangsoo, borrowing from me is a much better alternative than borrowing from a loan shark. I don't break legs and beat people up."

For the first time in a long time, Kwangsoo smiled. The thought of this man breaking legs from a wheelchair was amusing. Still, the goons that had beaten him were not the ones the money would go to. "I will consider your offer, Sir."

Ironside waited, hoping his son-in-law would open up to him, but it was not to be. At least he said he would consider the offer. He had one other thing he wanted to bring up to him. "Do you really oppose me adopting Chong?"

He looked away from Ironside. "I do not see the necessity for you adopting her. She is a full grown woman. It seems silly to me."

"It involves more than just adopting. Becoming my legal daughter means she will also become my legal aire, along with my son, Robert. Kwangsoo, I do not wish to interfere with your role as her provider or protector. I know you are a proud man, and I personally am very happy to have you for a son-in-law. I only want to help you so that you are able to take on the role without help in the future. In this country, parents occasionally help their children. Well, you think about my offer and let me know your decision."

"I will, and thank you for the offer."

Ironside had been turning his chair when he heard the young man thank him. It was not something he was expecting. He turned quickly back to him. "You are welcome." He then turned and wheeled away.

Kwangsoo watched his foster father-in-law leave. Maybe he should accept his offer just this once. After all, it would lead to him finishing school much quicker. Then he would be fully in charge of his home. He would be able to get a good paying job and leave this repair shop, not that he wasn't appreciative for Joe allowing him to continue to work there. He just wanted to pay his own way and take care of Chong. Kwangsoo wanted a family. He did not want to wait any longer. He would seriously consider his foster father-in-law's offer. However, he still did not like the idea of any adoption. He wanted to remove his father-in-law's influence over Chong. Kwangsoo did not want her making decisions based on her father's opinion.

He supposed he could have told him about the beating he took, and that the new loan shark was trying to collect more money from him. The problem was he had no doubt Ironside would think he had indeed borrowed more money from one of these men. Kwangsoo had learned his lesson from the first time. He could have lost Chong over it. Kwangsoo had almost considered leaving to get away from the loan shark. He was glad he didn't. Still he wanted to stand on his own feet without the help of Ironside.

Kwangsoo decided he needed to meet with this man and explain to him he had paid his debt and didn't owe him any money. It must be some kind of misunderstanding. He could not possibly think it was right to collect the money from him twice. Yes, that is what he would do. He would see this man. He just did not know how to go about contacting him.

Mark approached his boss as he saw him coming. "How'd it go?"

"I am not sure, Mark. He did say he would consider my offer," the chief replied.

"Offer?"

"I offered to loan him the money to finish his schooling so he could cut the time in half, or more."

"And he didn't jump on it?" Mark asked.

"You have to understand his culture. It is his job to take care of his family, Mark, without outside interference. That means me," Ironside said with a grin.

"I don't understand him, Chief. Why didn't he say yes right away? Borrowing from you is certainly better than borrowing from a loan shark, or do you think he already has?"

"That is what we are going to find out. If he has, I will pay off the loan shark and let Kwangsoo pay me."

"Chief, you can't get involved with a loan shark. If it ever got out... "

"I don't think you understand me, Mark. I will pay the loan shark, just not with money. I will pay him with a nice prison term."

3

Chong and Robert settled on a Chinese restaurant neither of them had ever been in. It was actually a very nice restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere. After allowing Chong to order their food, figuring she would certainly know oriental food better than he, Robert pondered how to approach the subject of Kwangsoo and their relationship.

Deciding that he would use his father as the subject, he said, "There seems to be a lot of tension between Kwangsoo and Papa."

Chong looked down. She was silent for a moment before responding. "I just don't understand why he resents Father so. He helped him out of the mess he got himself into with that loan ship."

Robert smiled. "Shark, loan shark."

Chong blushed. Sometimes American terms were strange. She could not remember what the man was referred as. A shark was a dangerous animal that swam in the ocean. Why did Americans used words that had nothing to do with what they were talking about. "Loan shark."

"Why do you think he resents his help?" Robert asked.

"It is the tradition of our culture for the man to take care of his family. He is the provider and protector. He sees Father as trying to take that role away from him."

"Chong, he only wants to help the two of you," Robert said.

"Yes, I know, and I suppose I have not helped the situation by getting a job. That is not done in our culture either, but if we are going to live in America, should we not practice American customs? Wives take jobs all the time over here. I had to. We were not meeting our bills."

"Not only do wives work in America, they sometimes make more money than their husbands."

"Oh, Kwangsoo would not like that. When he finishes school, he is going to want me to quit work. I don't want to do that, Robert. In fact, I want to go to school too. I want to take advantage of this wonderful country and learn."

Robert could not help but notice how animated she became talking about going to school. "Do you know what you would like to do?"

"No, not yet, but I will talk it over with Father. He may have some suggestions."

"Shouldn't you talk it over with Kwangsoo first?" Robert said, raising an eyebrow.

She shook her head. "He would never agree to it. He still believes in our culture, and I do to a certain extent. However, there are so many more opportunities here in America that we did not have in our home country. I feel I should be able to take advantage of them. It is silly for me to live here and not do so. I don't understand why he would come to a country for the opportunities it can provide him, and then want to live like he did in our home country. Why did he not just stay there?"

"I don't know, Chong, but I still think you should talk to your husband first, especially before you talk to our father."

She again shook her head. "He will never agree to me going to school, Robert." "You are going to have to discuss it eventually. You will not be able to hide you are going to school should you start."

She sighed. "I suppose you are right. Okay, I promise to talk to him first, but I know there is going to be an argument."

"It will be worse later on if you don't talk to him about it."

"Yes, I guess it would."

"Chong, I am not quite sure how to ask this, so I am just going to come out and ask. Is Kwangsoo borrowing from loan sharks again?"

"Not that I know of," she answered. "If he is, he is not sharing the money with me. Nor is he taking any more classes than he can afford to on what we are earning."

"Well, that's good news," Robert said.

"Did my father put you up to asking me that?" Chong asked with suspicion.

Robert chuckled. "Yes, he did. He is worried about him."

"Why? Does he think he is borrowing from the sharks again?"

Robert had to hold back a laugh. "That is what Papa wants to find out. Something is bothering him. Papa wants to find out what and try to help him."

"He has not been himself lately. I am not sure if it is because of feeling like a failure as a provider, or whether it is because of something else. I just don't understand why he seems to resent Father so." She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "How do I find out?"

"Is he getting any mysterious phone calls, or have you noticed any bruises on his body anywhere?" Robert asked.

"No, no bruises," she answered. They would be noticeable. Father would have seen them last night."

"Not necessarily, Donnie Walker would have had his thugs beat him where it would not show... except to... ah... a wife."

Chong blushed. "I could not tell you that. I made him sleep on the couch for the way he treated Father."

"Well, if you do see bruises, please tell Papa. It would mean he is being beaten by Walker's men."

"Yes, I will. I am scared, Robert. What if he is involved with the sharks again?"

"Then our father will take a bite out of them," Robert said with a smile.

The rest of their lunch was strictly getting to know each other. Robert shared what he was doing in Montreal, and she talked about her homeland and how Robert Ironside had helped her by sending money for living expenses. She told him about the pictures she drew and sent to him over the years.

When lunch was over, Robert took her back to Ted's Restaurant. He watched Chong disappear and go in. Once she was gone, Robert headed back to his father's office.

4

Brian Walker watched as Chong Lee Yung went back into the restaurant. He did not know who the guy was she was with. Maybe she was stepping out on Kwangsoo Yung. That would improve the situation if it were true. Ironside would not be as interested in protecting Kwangsoo Yung if he and his daughter were calling it quits. Who was he kidding, Ironside would get involved no matter what. As soon as he found out they were squeezing Yung for more money, he was going to come after them. Brian could not understand why in the world Walker wanted to mess with Ironside's son-in-law. He was asking for trouble... the worse kind of trouble...Ironside.

Brian followed the man in the car in front of him. He would have to report back to Walker about him. He had not seen this man around. Brian didn't think he was a cop, but then he did not know every detective in the police department. Yet, he smelled of cop. He reached for the phone to call Donnie Walker, then decided to wait. He might get more information on the guy if he found out where he was going. At the very least, he might know where to find him if Donnie wanted to press him for information.

After a several minute drive, the man in the vehicle in front of him pulled into the garage at Police Headquarters. Brian shook his head. Just great, the man was a cop, probably reporting back to Ironside. He continued driving on by. No use in letting him know he had been followed.

5

Robert stepped out of the elevator and headed for his father's office. Without knocking, he opened it and went in. He turned his chair to see who had entered. Upon seeing his son, he went back to his paperwork. "How did lunch go? Did you learn anything?"

"Well you were right. Chong and Kwangsoo are having problems."

"What kind of problems? Does she know what is bothering him?" Ironside asked.

"Not really. " Robert relayed to his father everything Chong had told him.

"So she doesn't know if he has been borrowing from loan sharks?"

"No. She isn't sure if it is being unable to provide for her isn't what is bothering him. She will keep her eyes open for any problems she might spot."

"So, basically, we have not learn a whole lot. The next step is up to Kwangsoo. Let's see if he accepts my offer. What did Chong think of the offer?"

"I was not aware of any offer you made to him."

"So, that means he did not call her and tell her about it, since she didn't mention it," Ironside said.

"I am not sure he had the time, Papa. We were at lunch while you were at his shop."

"He has a cellphone, doesn't he?" Ironside questioned. "He could have called her, if he found out she had left Ted's to go to lunch with you."

"Possibly, but I don't think he will tell her about the offer anyway. What did you offer him?" Robert inquired.

"To loan him the money so he could finish school in half the time," Ironside replied.

Robert nodded. "That is a very generous offer. I hope for her sake that he accepts it. I think their marriage is on very shaky ground right now. That would help the financial situation."

Ironside checked his watch. "Where are Ed and Fran? They should be back here by now."

6

Brian James parked his vehicle in front of the bar and headed inside. He was not looking forward to telling Donnie what he had seen. He would tell him anyway as he knew if he found out from somebody else, he would be in trouble.

He took his time as he entered the bar, went through the main bar room and headed to the back. He turned to the left, went down the hall and knocked on Donnie's door.

Walker looked up when Brian entered his office. He said nothing, but kept working on his paperwork.

"How's business tonight, Boss?"

"What the hell do you care as long as I keep paying you?"

Brian should have known better then to try to engage Donnie Walker in any conversation. He never did anything but snarl and growl at him. Well, he might as well get it over with. "Boss, we may have a problem."

"So, why didn't you take care of it?"

"It wasn't something I could take care of." He really hated giving Donnie any kind of bad news.

"Are we going to play twenty questions, or are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Donnie's voice was rising in agitation.

Brian decided he better not stall any longer. His boss had a vicious temper and he wasn't afraid to take it out on anyone around him. "I followed the Chinese girl just as you told me to."

"I didn't tell you to follow her. I told you the rough her up."

"In order to do that, I have to follow her and make sure I have her alone. You don't want any witnesses, do you?"

Walker got up from his desk, walked around it and backhanded James in the mouth. "Don't get smart with me. Just tell me what happened!"

Brian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"You have a smart mouth, and I have told you many times to control it. Now unless you want more of the same, I suggest you tell me what is going on."

"I followed her. She went to work in that greasy spoon restaurant. At noon, a guy showed up. She left the restaurant with him and went to Chinatown."

"So maybe she is cheating on the old man."

"I don't think so," Brian said. "He had that look."

"What look?"

Brian looked at him and said, "He looked like a cop. He smelled like a cop."

Donnie stared at him for a moment before saying anything further. "One of Ironside's boys?"

"I don't think so. I've never seen him around before, and he had a funny accent."

Walker's interest had really been piqued. "What kind of accent?"

"I think it was French. Don't quote me on that, I am not good with accents."

Walker walked around his desk and sat down. He unlocked and opened the bottom drawer that contained his files. He pulled out the file on Ironside. Donnie started glancing through the paperwork. He found newspaper clippings regarding Pierre Folgere and the attempted bombing of San Francisco with a nuclear bomb. He continued reading through the clippings. Suddenly, he slammed his index finger down on the clipping. "Here it is! Ironside has a French-Canadian son." He turn the clipping around and showed it to Brian James. "Is that the man you saw?"

James nodded. "That is definitely the man I saw."

"That's Ironside's bastard son."

"I wonder what he is doing in town."

Donnie's face turn to disgust. "He's probably visiting his father. That would make the Chinese girl the kids foster sister. So then, would you like to tell me what's the problem?

"The problem is I followed them into the restaurant. I sat close enough to them to hear the conversation. I made sure that my back was to them so they would not get a glimpse of my face."

"Alright, what did you hear?"

"He spent the first half of their conversation questioning her about her husband, and whether or not she knew if he was dealing with loan sharks."

"Ironside... damn that cop!"

"You think Ironside put him up to it?" Brian asked.

"I have no doubt about it. I want you to continue to follow her. Send Yung a very strong message. I want some bruises to show on that wife of his. Tell her that her husband is to keep his mouth shut and stay away from Ironside. Is that clear?"

"Are you sure you want to do this? I am telling you, Ironside is not someone to mess with. I have lived in this city all my life, and I know Ironside better than you do. Don't let that wheelchair fool you.

"If you let her know that we are collecting from her husband, she will run to Ironside. If you think he is nosing around now, just wait until he finds out she's been roughed up. I am telling you, he is relentless. You do not mess with him."

"I am really getting sick of hearing about how tough this crippled cop is. I have dealt with police for years. You have to know how to handle them, and I do. You just do as you were told."

"All right, boss, but I am telling you, you will regret it."

Brian James left Donnie Walker's office. He didn't know which man he was more scared of, Donnie Walker or Robert Ironside. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to do what he was told. He had to find a way to beat the girl up without her knowing he had anything to do with it. If Walker went down, he did not want to go down with him.


	5. Chapter 5

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 5

1

Robert Ironside checked his watch for the fifth time. He had to leave shortly, and Ed and Fran had not reported in. They had left before lunch, and Ironside had no idea where his officers were. He supposed he could call them; they both had cellphones. Despite wanting to know what they were doing, he would not call either of them. The chief had always given his detectives plenty of space to follow out his orders. Certainly something must have come up to keep them away from the office this long. Normally, his officers were very good about keeping in contact. The only time they didn't was because something prevented them from doing so.

That is what bothered him. What was keeping them from reporting in? There was a fine line between giving his officers room to investigate and checking on them if he thought they were in trouble. At this point, he had no reason to believe the latter was the case.

Looking at his watch one more time, Ironside could not wait any longer for his missing officers. He had to meet Katherine. He wheeled over to his desk and picked up the keys to the van. Not spotting his aide anywhere, he called out, "Mark!"

Sanger came out of his bedroom with a text book in his hands. "Yes, Chief."

"I am leaving to meet Katherine for dinner. When Fran and Ed report in, tell them they are not to leave this office until I get back," Ironside ordered.

Mark walked towards the detective. Ed and Fran had been putting in some rather long hours. Tonight was a perfect opportunity for them to take an evening off. He decided to stand up for them a bit. "Chief, there is nothing really pressing. Would it not be a good idea to give them the evening off? We have all been working quite late for some time now." Mark thought the boss had ignored his remark as he continued to wheel towards and then up the ramp.

When the chief reached the top, he turned his wheelchair back in Mark's direction. "They wait here. That's what happens when you don't report in." He turned abruptly and wheeled out of the office.

Mark shook his head and headed back into his room to study.

The doors to the elevator opened, and Ironside wheeled into the police garage. Wheeling over to the van, he noticed a young man standing beside his vehicle. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. He did not seem to be bothering the van, but he was most definitely very nervous. With the trained eye of a detective of over twenty years, he visually checked out the man before approaching him. Ironside could not spot a gun. The man seemed to be unarmed. Taking a look around to be sure the he was alone, Ironside did not see anyone else. The chief wheeled directly towards him. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Brian James was startled and jerked in Ironside's direction. He recovered quickly and faced the man so many thieves, crooks and small-time hoods feared. "Chief Ironside?"

"Yes," Ironside answered.

Brian didn't know why he questioned Ironside's identity. He had seen him dozens of times on the television. He guessed it was because this was the first time he had ever seen the man in person. If he had to admit it, Ironside did not look like someone you needed to be afraid of. Still, he knew a slew of men who were in prison because of this man; because they had underestimated him due to the wheelchair. James had no intention of doing that. "I came to warn you," Brian told him.

"Warn me about what? Why don't we start with your name?" Ironside said.

"My name doesn't matter. I can't be seen talking to you. Just listen to me. Your daughter is in danger. That is all I came to tell you." He turned to leave.

"Just a minute!" Ironside called after him, but the man ignored him and continued to walk away. It was times like this his disability came front and center. Before a sniper's bullet cut his legs from under him, he would have gone after the man and stopped him. Ironside would not have let him go until he explained his statement. Unfortunately, the only way he could stop him would be to pull his gun. The chief had one other avenue to him. It made more sense under the circumstances. The man had not made any threats towards him. In fact, he had warned him about danger to Chong. Ironside reached into his pocket and took the only other means of stopping him. Removing his cellphone, he called the officer on duty in the police garage.

"Smitty, there is a young man coming your way. He is about five-foot-ten, brown, curly hair; wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt. I want him picked up and held," Ironside ordered.

"You got it, Chief."

The line went dead. Robert Ironside pushed the button on his van. The side door opened and the lift tray lowered to the ground. Backing his chair onto the lift, the chief got into the van and behind the wheel. He started up the van and drove towards the officer on duty in the police garage. He was not at his station, when Ironside pulled the van up. He put it in park and waited for the officer to return.

Ten minutes later, Smitty came back to the booth. When he spotted Ironside's van, he headed straight for him. "Sorry, Chief. I called in for help, but none of us spotted the man. He must have gotten out of the garage before we could get enough officers to cover the exits." Not happy the man got away, but realizing Smitty did everything he could, Ironside assured him, "That's alright, Smitty. You did what you could. If he comes back, I want him picked up."

"You can count on it, Chief."

Ironside pulled the vehicle out of the police garage. He reached back into his pocket and once again pulled out his cellphone. Dialing Chong's number, he waited for her to answer.

"Hello," Chong said on the other end.

Ironside smiled at the sound of his daughter's voice. "Hello, Chong. How are you tonight?"

Her voice became very animated as it always did when she was talking to Ironside. "Father, what a pleasant surprise!"

"Is Kwangsoo there with you?" he asked her.

"Yes, Father. Is there something wrong?" she wondered.

"No, I just wanted to make sure he was hone with you. Did he mention the proposal I made to him today?"

"Proposal? No, he did not mention any proposal. What did you offer him?"

Ironside proceeded to tell her what he offered Kwangsoo. "I told him to think about it and let me know."

"I can't imagine why he did not tell me about it. Of course, he will accept it."

"Don't pressure him, Chong. Let him make up his own mind. I would also like you to do me a favor," Ironside told her.

"Favor, what favor?" she asked.

"Don't go out tonight without Kwangsoo," he requested.

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Chong asked, "Father, is something wrong?"

"I can't explain right now. I don't have enough information. I will send your brother by in the morning to escort you to work."

"Father, if there is something going on, don't you think you should tell me?"

Ironside was regretting telling her anything. She was not going to stop prodding him until he told her what was going on, and right now, he didn't even know what that was. "Please, just do as I ask. I will explain later."

Chong knew her father well enough to know he would never reveal anything he wasn't ready to. She decided to trust him. "Alright, Father, but I expect you to tell me what is going on as soon as possible."

"I will," Ironside assured her. He hung up the phone, wishing he had never made the call in the first place. He needed Ed and Eve for investigating, so he would assign his son to keep an eye on Chong.

2

Sergeant Brown and Officer Belding watched as two very large men approached a man in the alley behind a string of businesses. They knew who the men were and who they worked for. Ironside's officers had been following Donnie Walker's muscle-men around all day, making sure they could not collect from the people who supposedly owed the loan shark money. Since they were the ones doing it, they figured it would send a very strong message to Walker. He was to leave Chong and Kwangsoo alone. Otherwise, they would be collecting from no one.

Fran could not help but think it was too bad they did not have the police personnel to do this all the time. It would stop people like Walker dead in his tracks, if police were constantly stopping his men from collecting from the people he loaned money to at ridiculous payback rates.

Just as it appeared the two men were going to get rough, Ed nodded at Fran and the two officers moved in. "Hey, what do you two think you are doing?" Ed called out.

It was the third time that day Billy Morton and Davie Fryman had been interrupted by these two cops. Donnie was going to be extremely upset that they had been unable to collect a single dollar, or even break a few fingers for non-payment.

"Nothing is going on," Billy said. "What's your problem, Brown? Why are you harassing us?"

"Harassing you? I think you got it all wrong, Morton. You are harassing this man. We simply are stopping you," Ed corrected.

Morton looked at the man and said, "Are we harassing you?"

The man looked down at the ground. "Ah... no," he said, not very convincingly.

"Don't you have some place you need to be?" Fran asked him.

The man lit up. He was afraid the police officers would just leave him to contend with Walker's thugs. "Yes, yes, I have to be to work very shortly."

"Then I suggest you get going," Ed told him. "If you would like help with your problem, call Chief Ironside's office."

The man hurried away. Morton and Fryman stood there staring at Ironside's officers. As Ed and Fran turned to go, Brown smiled and said, "See you on your next collection." He and Fran left and headed back to Ed's car. After they got in, Ed just sat there waiting for Morton and Fryman to come out of the alley. When they did, they got into a red Chevrolet sedan and pulled away.

"You are going to follow them, I presume?" Belding asked.

Ed grinned. "We are sending Walker a message. Messing with the chief is not a good idea."

"What if he decides to retaliate, Ed?" Fran asked in concern.

"Then we will have him. The chief will crush him."

3

Chong's anger with her husband was rising. She did not even realize she was losing control of her temper. If she had, she would have waited to talk to him. Chong was tired of the way he had been treating her father lately. Determined to put an end to it, she called out, "Kwangsoo!"

The young man walked into the kitchen. He had been looking forward to a nice, quiet evening with Chong. They had spent so much time arguing lately, they had not had quality time together in over two weeks. It had also taken its toll on their love life. He could not even remember the last time they had been intimate. He enjoyed that closeness with Chong. Kwangsoo had hesitated to tell her that she was shirking her duties as his wife. Unfortunately, she had become so Americanize, he was afraid pointing out to her that she had been ignoring her wifely duties would only start another knock-down-drag-out fight. Still, as her husband, it was his job to be sure she did not ignore her duties.

He would not try to force her, but rather try romancing her. The smile on his face quickly disappeared as he entered the kitchen. The look on Chong's face was that of anger. "What's the matter, Chong?" he asked, but was almost certain that it was over her father. Lately, it always was.

"Why did you not tell me that my father offer to give you a loan for school, so you could finish faster?" she asked angrily.

"So much for no pressure," he mumbled. "So, he told you," Kwangsoo said."

"He told me, but he also told me to let you make your own decision," she responded.

"Than why are you not letting me?"

"Because this is a decision that concerns us both. If you finish more quickly, you will be able to find a job that pays better than the repair shop."

"This is my decision. I am the head of this family, a point you seem to be forgetting lately. I make the decisions for us. Why don't you let me do my job as the head of the family and stop ignoring your responsibilities?" He almost cringed at what came out of his mouth. He had not wanted to approached the subject this way.

Chong's anger only rose with that remark. "What duties are you talking about? I am doing everything I can to help you succeed. I got a job and ..."

"It is not your place to provide the living, it is mine! Yours is to take care of the home and perform your wifely duties!" he shouted as his own anger was rising. He just did not understand himself lately. Kwangsoo never lost his temper.

"My wifely duties! When are you ever going to accept that you are living in America. We are partners. It is your job to satisfy me just as much as it is the other way around!"

Kwangsoo shook his head angrily. "You have forgotten everything you were taught, and it is your American father's fault! You will do as I tell you to, Chong!"

Both of them were shouting by now. Neither listening to the other. Chong grabbed her purse and the keys to the car. She stormed out of the apartment before he could stop her. Kwangsoo started after her and then thought better of it. Why bother? He knew where she was going. She was headed to her American father. That settled it, he was not accepting any money from her father. He would make his way in America on his own, or he would not make it at all.

4

Katherine sat across from Robert Ironside at the Fog Harbor Fish House. As often happened, she did not have his full attention. She studied him for a few minutes. There was nothing she hated worse than a silent dinner. "Robert, what is on your mind?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Ironside smiled at her and took her hand. "Sometimes, it is hard to leave my job at the office. As I have told you, I have a foster daughter."

"Yes, I know that. Is there a problem?"

"There could be. I am worried that her husband is dealing with loan sharks again."

"Oh no, Robert, are you sure?" Katherine said.

"No, I am not. It is what I am trying to find out." He hesitated before going on. "A man I have never seen before came into the parking garage and warn me that Chong is in danger."

"Are you having her watched?" Katherine inquired.

"For tonight, I told her not to go out without Kwangsoo. I will have my son keep an eye on her tomorrow. I need Ed and Eve investigating for me. I can't spare them right now."

"Why not assign police officers to her?" she asked.

"Robert is a police officer... a Canadian police detective to be exact. He was promoted rather quickly."

Katherine smiled. "I am not surprised. All you have to do is look at his father."

"He is visiting and will be here for a while. Actually, we are cooperating with a case they are investigating in Montreal. Frank Rousseau sent him here. So far, the boy has been working for me," he laughed.

"Well, I know you will protect her. If you would rather skip dinner and go back to the office, I will understand."

"And pass up an opportunity to spend time with you? Not a chance." he said.

"Then do you suppose I can have your undivided attention?" She smiled as she raised an eyebrow.

Ironside chuckled. "I'll tell you what... we will finish dinner here and then I will take you out for drinks."

"Do you have any place in mind?" Katherine asked.

Ironside had a definite place in mind, but he thought it best Katherine did not know where. "I do indeed."

They spent the remaining of their dinner discussing the vineyards and Ironside's son and foster daughter.

5

Chong stepped out of her vehicle after parking it in the empty spot that normally contained Robert Ironside's van. It did not necessarily mean her foster father was not there. She knew Mark quite often took the van to night-school. She didn't care that the van was not in its parking spot. Chong would wait for her foster father to come back, if he indeed was not home.

She exited her car and ran over to the elevator. Chong stood there for a moment trying to remember the four-digit code that would allow her to use the elevator, which would lead her to Robert Ironside's office-residence. For the moment, it had escaped her memory. A uniformed police officer was headed her way. When he arrived at the elevator, he smiled. "This elevator is for the use of Chief Ironside and select police personnel. I am afraid you will have to go out and enter the main entrance."

Chong had used this elevator many times. It was only her anger that was keeping her from remembering the code. "I am Chong Yung. My foster father is Robert Ironside. I always use this elevator. I am just so upset I can't remember the code."

Officer Duffy recognized her name immediately. "Oh yes, I remember the chief mentioning you." He punched in the code, and the elevator opened. "You can go right up, Mrs. Yung."

Chong thanked him before he turned and walked away. She did not see two of Donnie Walker's men watching her get on the elevator.


	6. Chapter 6

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 6

1

Chong looked out the window of her foster father's office. The overcast skies looked like they were about to open and rain down on the city. She loved to look up and see the stars. Unfortunately, that would not be possible tonight. The dark clouds would make sure of that. Nor, would she be able to see the full moon. She sighed, a bit depressed. Her life and her marriage were not going as she had planned.

She had been so happy when she and Kwangsoo got married. America was such a beautiful country with an all new culture. She had embraced her new home and most of its culture. Of course, she still respected those of her home country. She just could not understand why Kwangsoo insisted on living completely with the customs of their former home. They were in America now, a wonderful country that offered so much more than their own ever could.

Kwangsoo continued to ignore everything that was American and insisted she do the same. He seemed to blame her transformation to becoming an American on Robert Ironside. It simply was not true. When Chong first came to the United States, she lived by the culture of her birth country. Gradually, she began to see the advantages America could provide. Yet, Kwangsoo only seemed to see one advantage and that was the schooling America had to offer. She could not help but wonder why he had come to this country in the first place. Still, his stubborn resistance to America only seemed to be in places where it suited him. In their home country, he would not have been allowed to marry Chong without the permission of her father, yet he had told Robert Ironside he would encourage her to go against the wishes of her father if he failed to give his blessing for the marriage. Also, in their country, he would have simply followed in his father's footsteps. Schooling on the scale of America would not have been available to him.

Although Chong love Kwangsoo every bit as much as she did the day she fell in love with him, she was beginning to think marrying him had been a mistake. They seemed to be drawing apart more and more every day. His animosity towards her father was upsetting and hurtful. If it had not been for Robert Ironside, her life growing up would have been much harder. It seemed that no matter how much she tried talking to Kwangsoo about it, they never seemed to resolve anything. Nothing changed for either of them.

She was at a loss to know how to bridge their differences. Maybe their was no compromise that would be satisfactory to both of them. Chong shook her head. No, there had to be a way to work things out. Maybe the answer was for them to spend more time with her father so that Kwangsoo got to know him better. Despite his rough, gruff exterior, Chong knew there was a very caring man beneath that surface, and it was time her husband got to see it. They had to have something in common which they could share together.

A hand came over her shoulder. Chong turned to see Mark offering her a cup of tea from the aroma invading her nostrils. She smiled and took the cup from him. "Do you have any idea when my father will be back, Mark?"

The young aide sat down beside her in front of Ironside's favorite window. "Chong, he is out with Katherine. He could be quite late and then again, he may choose not to come home tonight and stay with her. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the chief."

"Oh dear, I so wanted to talk to him tonight."

Mark could see something was troubling her terribly. He was not certain he could help her, but he would offer anyway. "Is there something I might be able to help you with?"

She appreciated the gesture on his part, but only one man in her eyes had the wisdom to help her, and that man was Robert Ironside. "No, I don't think so, Mark. I need to talk to Father."

Mark nodded. He did not want to pry, he just did not want her leaving here in the state she was in, and he feared she was going to do so. She had already been here quite a long time waiting for the chief to return. He decided to try one more time before giving up. "Is it Kwangsoo? Has he decided to turn down the chief's offer?"

"I honestly don't know what he has decided, Mark. We have not been talking much lately, and when we do, we just get in a big fight. I don't know what to do." Tears appeared in her eyes as she sipped the tea.

"Maybe you just need to give Kwangsoo some space. I am sure he will come around. It is just taking him longer to adjust to our American customs. Just be glad he did not choose to go to Chicago where I grew up. It is much tougher there than here."

"I don't know if he will ever adjust to American customs, and it scares me." She looked at her watch. "I better be getting back home. Kwangsoo will be getting worried about me. Please tell my father I need to talk to him."

"Let me escort you to your vehicle." Mark stood up and took her hand as she rose.

"Oh no, I would not hear of it. After all this is police headquarters. I will be perfectly safe, but thank you anyway."

"The chief would expect me to look after you," Mark insisted.

"And you can tell my father, I am capable of looking after myself. This is America where women are much stronger than where I come from." She smiled and headed for the door.

Sanger walked with her. "Are you sure you won't let me walk you to your car?"

"No thank you. I will be fine. Just let my father know I was here," she replied.

"I will. And Chong, just give Kwangsoo time. He will come around."

"I hope so, Mark. Goodnight." Chong left the office. She looked back at Mark and smiled. "Thank you."

Mark watched until she disappeared into the elevator and then closed the door to his boss's office.

Chong rode the elevator to the police parking garage. Her mind was in a whirl. She had so been hoping to talk to her father. He had a way of calming her and making her see things with a clearer head. Without his calming hand, she didn't know what to do. She was afraid returning to their apartment would only bring on another argument with Kwangsoo. She didn't know how much more she could take. Something had to give.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts, she did not see the two men come up behind her.

2

Ironside pulled the van in front of Donnie Walker's place. Katherine looked over at him puzzled by his choice for drinks. Robert had always chosen very classy places for them to dine and relax at. By her standards and his, this place was nothing more than a dive. Katherine could not believe he would choose such an establishment to come to. She was concerned with the rough characters she saw going in and out of it.

Katherine remained in the passenger seat of the van as Robert wheeled his chair onto the lift. He was very old fashion when it came to women. He expected her to wait until he opened the door. Robert enjoyed being a gentleman and playing the role of the protector. When he opened the passenger door, she stepped out of the van. Following Robert towards the bar, she noticed the looks he was getting from the shady characters that were hanging out by the door.

"Hey Chief, what the hell are you doing here?" one of them yelled. "You are not exactly welcome."

Ironside growled, "That has never stopped me before." Wheeling towards them, they blocked the entrance. The chief, never being one to panic, but realizing Katherine's safety was utmost on his mind, simply pulled out his service revolver. "How would you gentlemen like to spend the night in my jail?"

They put their palms up in surrender. "Easy Chief, we were just having some fun with you," one of them said. They split up and cleared a path to the door.

"You are not exactly my idea of playmates," he snarled.

Katherine was no longer wondering why Robert had picked this particular place to have their drinks. This certainly had to do with work. She loved him, but wondered if he could ever do anything that did not pertain to his job. It didn't matter. She knew how loving he was and did not doubt he loved her. She was surprised he would choose to come to this establishment when she was with him.

Ironside put away his revolver once inside. He was not about to allow those hoodlums to stop him when he was on a mission. He chose a table near the door that led back to Donnie Walker's office. A waitress, clad in an outfit that did not leave much to the imagination came to their table. He shook his head, wondering why any woman would allow a man to exploit her that way. He got the feeling she knew who he was and didn't approve of him, which did not surprise him.

"What would you like to drink?" the waitress asked him.

Ironside looked to Katherine. "A glass of wine?"

"Please, a Chardonnay," she responded.

"A Chardonnay for the lady and bourbon for me," the chief told her. She gave him a look of disapproval and left the table.

Katherine studied his handsome face for a moment. His attention was not on her. His eyes darted around the room. Although he had a calm demeanor, Katherine knew he was scanning the bar for any source of trouble. "Robert, this is certainly an unusual choice of place to have drinks. Why are we here? It certainly isn't for the atmosphere. This is your typical run-down... for lack of a better term, thug bar."

Ironside smiled. "All right, we are here because the loan shark I believe is after my son-in-law, therefore endangering my foster daughter, owns this dive. He uses it as a front for an illegitimate business."

"We have so little time together, do you really have to do this when we go out?" Katherine was clearly not happy about him bringing her to Walker's bar.

He put her hand over his. "I am sorry, Katherine, you are right. I should never have brought you here. I will cancel the drink order and we will go some place else." Ironside signaled for the waitress to return to their table. When she arrived, he said, "Cancel our order for the drinks. We are leaving."

"Smart move, Ironside. You don't belong here anyway," she said and turned around to leave.

Just then the door beside them opened and Donnie Walker came through it. Another man came into the bar behind him. When he saw Robert Ironside, he dropped his eyes and turned away from him. The chief recognized him to be the man that had waited for him in the police garage to warn him of danger to his foster daughter.

"Chief, I must confess, this is one place I never planned on seeing you," Donnie said. He decided to use a different tactic with Ironside. Maybe he could be bought after all.

"We are just leaving Mister Walker," Ironside told him.

"Nonsense!" He called the waitress over who had just left the table and said, "Bring Chief Ironside and his lady friend a drink."

"But he just cancelled his order and said he was leaving," she said, a bit confused.

"Bring them a drink, and it is on the house," Walker ordered her.

"Don't bother, Miss," Ironside overruled Donnie Walker. "Police officers are not allow to accept gifts. Besides, we are leaving."

"Suit yourself, Chief, but you must have come in here for a reason. So, why don't you say what you have to say," Walker suggested. The damn cop was going to be hard-nosed.

Ironside turned his chair towards him. "All right, I will. The police are not stupid, Mister Walker..."

"Please, Chief, call me Donnie," Walker said as if they were old friends.

"As I was saying, Mister Walker, the police are not stupid. We know this dive of yours is nothing but a front for you to run your loan sharking business. We have yet to prove it, but we will. I am going to give you a piece of advice whether you want it or not. Kwangsoo Yung paid back his loan to your predecessor. He has no obligation to you what-so-ever. Don't try to collect from him any further."

"Excuse me, Chief Ironside, but I am not trying to collect anything from anyone. I am just a businessman trying to make a living with this." He waved his hand, indicating the bar. "However, I doubt very much that Mister Yung paid his loan back at the rate that he agreed, so he would owe whoever took over the business the rest of the money. That is no concern to me since I am not a loan shark. I am a businessman."

"You are a crook, a thug and a liar, and not a very good one at that. You waltz in here from Chicago and make waves like an amateur. If you really think I don't know what you are doing here, then you are a fool. I said what I came her to say. Stay away from Kwangsoo. If he needs money, he can get it from me." He began to wheel away with Katherine beside him when he stopped and turned his chair back to him. "And stay away from Chong as well. If I find out you are squeezing either one of them, I will put you out of business permanently, and by that I mean I will have this place crawling with officials. I have already spotted several violations. When I get done shutting down this dive, I will make it my mission to put you behind bars. You better check my record, since you are a fairly newcomer to San Francisco. Sooner or later I put thugs like you in jail." Ironside turned and wheeled out of the bar never indicating that he had seen Brian James before. He knew it would be suicide if Walker found out about his visit to police headquarters.

When they were back in the van, Katherine said, "Robert, you certainly have no qualms about going into the lion's den and pulling his tail, do you?"

He grinned. "It makes this job much more interesting." Starting the van, he continued, "Besides, I meant every word of it. It is only a matter of time before I nail that crook. Sooner than later if he goes anywhere near my daughter or my son-in-law."

"I would never pretend to tell you how to do your job, so I won't pretend now. I think you should be a little more subtle."

"Katherine, that is what I like about you. You never beat around the bush! However, neither do I. I say what I have to say. Whether he heeds my warning or not is up to him. He knows where I stand."

"I thought you had your staff go in there and do exactly that," she said.

"I did, but I seem to have more of an impact."

Katherine shook her head. "Can we now go somewhere for a nice quiet drink... somewhere where we don't have to run into thugs that hate you."

"Now that might not be so easy, but I'll try," he said with a grin.

3

Robert Duvalier drove Fran Belding's car towards police headquarters. He had done some investigating of Donnie Walker. Anxious to talk to his father about it, he wanted to get back to his office-residence. As he pulled down the lane where he would park his car by his father's van, Robert spotted two men roughing up a woman. As she turned her face towards him, Robert saw it was Chong. Stepping on the gas he sped towards them. He slammed on the brakes causing them to squeal when he reached them.

Robert tore open the car door. Not bothering to shut it, he ran over to help Chong. Grabbing the first thug, he doubled his fist and slugged him in the face. Chong fell to the garage floor when the other thug let her go to tend to the man attacking him.

With his back turned, Robert did not see the blow coming to his head. He collapsed to the floor, his head spinning. Both men combined forces to deal with the newcomer. One grabbed Robert by the hair, pulling him to his feet. He slammed him up against the wall then held his arms behind him while his partner began landing blow after blow into his stomach and face.

Chong, although her legs felt like rubber, got up and jumped on the back of the man beating Robert. With her arm around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist from behind, she started beating him about the head.

With one thug busy trying to get Chong off his back, Robert was able to elbow the other man in the stomach. When he doubled over, Robert slugged him in the face, forcing him to fall to the ground. The young Canadian turn to help Chong who was still wrapped around the other thug.

Duvalier rammed his fist in the man's face and followed it with a blow to his stomach, and then another to his face. Chong almost crashed to the pavement with him as he fell, but Robert grabbed her. He supported her against him.

Looking around, hoping someone had either heard or witness what happened, Robert shouted at two officer's that started running his way.

"I'm Robert Duvalier, Chief Ironside's son. This is my sister. These man attacked her."

The officers picked both men up, read them their rights and arrested them. As they took them away, Robert could see Chong was pretty shook up. "Come on, let's get you up to Papa's office." Supporting her weight, Robert headed for the elevator. He keyed in the code that would open the doors and helped Chong inside.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue," Chong told him.

"Me? You came to my rescue," he said with a smile. He brushed back the hair in her eyes. Her face was bruised and she had blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. All Robert could think of was the man who ordered this attack had no idea what he had just unleashed in Robert Ironside.

When the elevator doors open, Robert walked Chong to their father's office.

4

"Damn Ironside! That damn cripple doesn't know who he is dealing with," Donnie shouted. He reached over to his desk, and with one swipe of his hand, he flung everything off it in a rage.

Brian James stood on the other side of the room. He thought it best to keep his distance from Donnie right now. He had been on the receiving end of his anger, and it was not pleasant. "I told you not to mess with him, Boss."

Walker moved so fast across the room, Brian had not been prepared for what came next. Donnie slammed him up against the wall. "I am tired of hearing about how tough Ironside is. He is nothing but a cripple who can't even protect himself. He made a mistake declaring war on me. He can't touch me. He can't prove one damn thing!" He let go of Brian, but before he walked away from him, he slugged him in the stomach. "You better start remembering who you work for. I don't want to hear another word about Ironside. I am going to teach that crippled cop not to mess with me."

As the pain in Brian's stomach subsided, he stood up holding his middle. Donnie didn't know Ironside. He was making the same mistakes a lot of guys made. He was underestimating him because he was in a wheelchair. If he kept up this behavior, Ironside would put him behind bars. Brian did not really care if he did. Right now he was more concerned that the cop would soon know his identity. Ironside showed no recognition when he saw Brian. It didn't matter as he knew the detective was famous for his poker face. If he had shown even the slightest recognition, Brian would probably not live out the night. He was not kidding himself, Donnie was capable of murder.

"Ironside is going to pay for this." Walker walked back over to his desk and sat down. "Did you arrange to have his daughter roughed up?"

"Yes. I hired two men from out of town."

"Can they be tied to us?" Donnie asked.

"No. They never saw me. I did it all by phone. I paid them half the money and told them where they could find the other half when the job was done," Brian told him.

"Good. That will teach the son-of-a-bitch not to mess with me. Now, I want his son not just roughed up. I want him beaten. Give him a message for his father-in-law. Tell him, he is next."

Brian's face turned pale. "That is not a good idea."

Donnie turned on him so fast, he did not see his fist until it was too late. He went crashing to the floor. Looking at Brian, he said, "You may just be right. I can hurt him more through his daughter. Let's pick her up."

Brian stayed on the floor. He figured he would end up back there anyway. Donnie was on a collision course with Robert Ironside. As far as Brian was concerned that was no different than standing on the train tracks with a train bearing down on you. You were bound to get run over. "When he finds out she has been beaten, he is coming after you."

"What can he do? Close me down? He can try, but he can't do it. I know someone in the health department. He won't close me down. He will simply say there are no health violations. Ironside can't do one damn thing."

There was a knock on the door. "Now who in the hell is bothering me," Donnie shouted. He went over and jerked the door open. Billy Morton Davie Fryman entered his office.

"Well it is about time you two show up. Give me the money you collected today," Walker ordered.

"We didn't collect any money, Boss," Billy told him.

"And why the hell not? Are you telling me no one had any money? You better have beaten the hell out of every one of them."

"No, we didn't. It was not that they didn't have the money, Ironside's people interfered. They followed us around all day and stopped us from collecting. They did the same thing with the other boys."

"IRONSIDE!" Donnie screamed.


	7. Chapter 7

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 7

1

After taking Katherine to her vineyards and home, Ironside drove his van back into the city. He was upset with himself for involving Katherine. Taking her to Donnie Walker's place was simply bad judgement on his part. He should have waited to go until she was not with him.

Ironside had never before taken Katherine anywhere that had anything to do with his job, at least not in dealing with criminals. The more he thought about it, it was reckless on his part and he was not proud of it. What if Walker decided to use Katherine against him? The chief shook his head. He didn't know what the flaming hell he had been thinking, putting her in harms way the way he just did. She did not deserve that and he should have thought better of it.

Ironside pulled the van into the police garage. There were several police officers mulling around. Obviously something had been going on. He didn't like the looks of it. Any time something was going on in this part of the police garage, it usually involved his office. He wheeled his chair into the lift and lowered his chair to the ground. Wheeling directly over to the officers, Ironside barked, "What's going on boys?"

"Hi Chief," one of the officers called out. "A woman was attacked. A Canadian officer stopped it. Both of them are upstairs in your office. The men who did it are in custody, locked up in our jail."

Anger started rising in the crippled detective. It didn't take Walker long to retaliate. If he thought he was going to get away with attacking is daughter, if that was who had been attacked, he was in for a surprise. Making this personal was the worse mistake he could have possibly made. The detective keyed the four-digit code into the elevator and pressed the button to open the doors. Ironside backed into the elevator and pressed the button for his office floor. When he arrived, he turned to the left and wheeled up the ramp. The chief reached forward, turned the doorknob, pushed open the door and wheeled into the office.

Sitting at the table, Chong had tears running down her cheeks. Ironside wheeled over to her. She turned to see him. He took her into his arms and looked up at Robert. "What happened?"

"I pulled in and two man had attacked her," Robert told him.

"Robert stopped them," Chong said.

"We stopped them," Robert corrected. He smiled at Chong.

Ironside looked at the banged up faces of his foster daughter and his son. Donnie Walker had been playing with fire and now he was going to get burned. It took everything within him to control his anger. Still, he had to control it. He had learned a long time ago you never allowed your anger to get the better of you. You force their anger to get the better of them. Anger, uncontrolled would bring you down. Ironside had learned to control it to his advantage.

"Chong, did you recognize either of the men?" he asked her.

"No, Father. I have never seen them before. I don't know why they attacked me."

"Was Kwangsoo called?" Ironside asked.

"Yes," Mark said. "I called him as soon as she and Robert came into the office."

The office door banged open and Kwangsoo came running down the ramp and straight to Chong and Ironside. He pulled her out of Ironside's arms and held her tight, while she cried. He did not want Ironside taking his role as her comforter.

He looked directly at his father-in-law and asked, "Who did this?"

"We have them in custody," Fran answered for his boss.

"Who are they?" Kwangsoo demanded.

"I haven't interrogated them yet," Ironside said.

"Why not? Are you going to let them get away with it?" Kwangsoo raised his voice.

"I wanted to talk to you first," Ironside said. "I have asked you this before and I am going to ask you again. Are you borrowing money from loan sharks again?"

"How dare you ask me that?" Kwangsoo shouted. "It is the same as accusing me of it."

"Kwangsoo, Chong has just been attacked and we suspect it was by men hired by Donnie Walker. I am trying to determine why," Ironside told him. "If you are not borrowing from him, then is he trying to collect more money on the previous debt you had with the loan shark that preceded him?"

The young man was not about to allow Ironside to handled his problems. It was none of his business. He would handled it his way. Ironside was going to stay out of it. He had no intentions of telling him about the men that were trying to collect from him. All he had to do was talk to Walker and explain to him he didn't owe him any money. He had paid it all back and with interest. Most men were honorable, and he was certain he could reason with Walker. He did not need Ironside interfering.

"No, no one has tried to collect any money from me," Kwangsoo lied to the detective.

Chong looked at her husband and knew instantly he was not telling her father the truth. If she knew, there wasn't any doubt her father knew as well. "Tell my father the truth," she insisted as she pushed back from her husband.

The young man became defensive. "You take sides against me with your father?"

"Kwangsoo, there are no sides between us. I simply want to know if Donnie Walker is coming after you, trying to collect more money? There has to be a reason he went after Chong," Ironside said, his voice calm. He tried to defuse his son-in-law's temper.

"And I told you he has not."

"I don't believe you," Chong said.

With his face turning red," he grabbed her by the arm and said, "We are leaving."

Chong pulled away from him. "Kwangsoo, what is the matter with you? Father is trying to help us."

"I don't want his help. I am your husband. You will do as I tell you to do." His anger was apparent as he stepped toward her.

Ed, concerned for her safety, stepped in front of Kwangsoo. "Easy," he soothed.

"I am tired of you allowing your father to interfere with our marriage. You are going to regret this" He stormed out of Ironside's office.

Chong began to cry. "I don't understand him any more."

Ironside wheeled his chair forward and took her into his arms. "He is upset, Chong."

"I am upset too, Father, but I don't understand why he doesn't realize you are the one that can help us with this."

"Chong, do you think he has been approached by loan sharks?" Robert asked.

"I don't know, I just don't know. He won't talk to me like a husband should. I just don't know," she repeated.

"Well, I think it is time we find out. "Ed, you and Robert come with me. Fran, I would like you to stay with Chong. Mark, make up the other guest room. Chong is staying here tonight."

Ironside wheeled towards the ramp. Ed and Robert followed him up.

2

Donnie Walker sat in is office waiting for word from Brian James. Brian should soon tell him Ironside's daughter had been picked up. Once he had her, the husband would cooperate. Donnie was beginning to believe the kid had not gone to Ironside after all. He had gotten word Kwangsoo Yung wanted to see him. Donnie agreed to it. Once he saw the kid face-to-face, he would use his boys to make sure the kid understood he was not to go to Ironside under any circumstances.

Yung would find out Donnie had his wife. He would then cooperate and come up with the money. He wanted the money that would have been collected if Ironside had not interfered and he wanted that money up-front. Then he would start bleeding him for more under the guise it was punishment for going to Ironside in the first place.

Walker did not share Brian's fear of the crippled detective. Just how scary could a cop in a wheelchair be? As soon as he got the payment from Yung, he would release his wife. That should be enough to impress on the man not to involve his father-in-law.

The loan shark picked up the phone and dialed the bar. When the bartender answered, he immediately asked, "Has Brian come in yet?"

"Just walked through the door, Boss," he answered.

"Tell him I want to see him right away," Walker ordered.

"Will do, Boss," the man responded.

Donnie Walker hung the phone up and waited. This part of his plan should have been put in place with the abduction of Ironside's daughter.

There was a knock on the door. Walker looked up and called out. "Get in here, Brian!"

The door opened and Brian James entered his office. Donnie did not like the look on his face. It better have been for a reason other than failure. "Where's the girl?"

James walked over and sat down in the only available chair in Walker's office. "We don't have her."

Walker leaned forward and looked at Brian who dropped his eyes from him. "What do you mean we don't have her? You sent the two outsiders, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I sent them." Brian said no more. He hated giving Donnie bad news. He didn't trust the bastard not to shoot him out of anger.

"Don't just sit there, tell me what the hell happened!" he demanded.

"They went to the police garage just as they were told to do. When the girl came out of the building, they grabbed her, but Ironside's son pulled into the garage and fought them off."

A very angry Donnie Walker shouted. "I thought you said these guys were professionals!"

"They are."

"Then why were two professionals unable to handle Ironside's son?" Donnie yelled at him.

"I don't know, Donnie. All I know is police officers showed up and ..."

"Police? You better not tell me they were arrested!" Walker continue to yell at Brian.

Brian couldn't look Walker in the eye. "I am afraid so."

"You call that professional? They can't handle one man and a woman and they get caught. So help me, Brian, if they trace those two back to me, I'll kill you myself," he shouted. "Damn it!"

"They can't be tied to you or me. It was done by phone and money placed in a post office box. It can't be traced to us," James assured him.

"For your sake, you better hope not," Walker said, his voice deadly.

3

Ironside wheeled into the jail. The officer on duty knew exactly why the chief was there. It was all over the station his foster daughter had been attacked. "Hi Chief, we put the two men in Interrogation Room three."

"Thanks, Charlie. I'll take it from here," Ironside told him.

"Sir, you better take Sergeant Brown in with you. I don't want you in there alone with both of them," Charlie said.

"All three of us are going in," the detective told him.

"Sir, I can't let a civilian go in there," Charlie told him.

"He's not a civilian, he's a Canadian detective," the chief growled. "He is going in on my authority."

Charlie argued no further. He had heard that tone of voice from the chief before. It simply meant not to question his authority any further. He unlocked the door to the interrogation rooms and watched Ironside, Ed and the Canadian detective go through and down the hall.

Ironside looked up at the doors and found the one with the "3" on it. He opened it. There was an officer in the outer room of the interrogation room. A glass window allowed for a view inside, but did not allow the subject to see out. The officer unlocked the door and opened it. Ironside wheeled into the room. He was followed in by Ed Brown and his son.

The two men were unfamiliar to him. He doubt neither Ed nor Robert knew who they were either. He wondered why the officers had put both of them in the same room. He wanted to try to turn them against each other. He did not doubt Donnie Walker was behind the attack, but the only way he was going to be able to prove it was if one of them cracked. The chief would allow Ed to take one of them to another room. That way neither of them would know what the other one was saying.

"Ed, take one of these gentleman out of here," Ironside said.

"Chief," Ed said out of concern for his boss.

Ironside knew exactly what was on his sergeant's mind. "I am armed and Robert will be here with me. He is armed as well. Now go, Ed."

Brown grabbed the arm of the man closest to him. "Come with me." The man got up and left the room with Sergeant Brown.

After they had gone, Ironside wheeled to the opposite side of the table where the man was sitting. He sat across from him and stared directly at him. The man looked away.

"My name is Ironside," the detective informed him.

"I know who you are. I am not talking to you," he said.

"You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning," Robert told him.

"My lawyer is on his way," he responded to the young Canadian.

"This will go a lot easier on you if you cooperate."

"I told you I am not talking to you."

Ironside turned to the officer behind him. "What's his name?"

"We don't know, Chief. He did not have any identification on him and neither did the other man."

"A pro," Ironside said. "Who hired you?"

"Are you deaf as well as crippled? I said I am not talking to you."

The door to the interrogation room opened and Attorney, Mark Jackson walked in. He recognized Ironside immediately. "Chief, you of all people know better than to interrogate a prisoner without his lawyer present."

"He was informed of his rights, Mister Jackson. I was simply giving him the opportunity to cooperate. He will face a lesser charge if he does."

"And I told him I am not talking to him. Just pay my bail and get me out of here," he told Jackson.

"You are not going anywhere, Mister Jackson," Ironside said. "I can hold you forty-eight hours without charging you. At the end of that forty-eight hours you will be arraigned. Until then, you can sit in jail or you can cooperate with the police."

The phone rang on the wall. Ironside knew who it would be. He waited for the officer to pick it up. Never taking his eyes off his prisoner, Ironside waited for the officer to tell him Ed was on the phone.

He held out the receiver and informed Ironside, "Sergeant Brown with the other prisoner."

The chief wheeled backwards to the phone, still staring at the man behind the table. "Ironside," he said. After listening for a moment, he said, "He is willing to cooperate. Good, then we don't need this one. We will charge him with attempted kidnapping and tell the district attorney to throw the book at him." Ironside wheeled towards the door.

Robert had to hold back a smile as he knew what his father was doing. It was doubtful Ed had gotten the other man to talk either, but it didn't matter as long as the man sitting behind the table thought he did. Robert looked at him. He was watching Ironside wheel towards the exit. His father motioned for the officer to unlock the door. As he was doing so, Robert noticed the look of panic on the prisoner's face.

"Wait a minute, Ironside, I'll make a deal with you."

His lawyer shook his head. "He is bluffing. This is a standard police procedure. He convinces each of you the other one is talking. He is trying to get one of you to turn on the other. Don't say a word, Josh."

The man's name was Josh. Already Ironside had more information than he had when he wheeled into the room. "Come on, Robert, we don't need him, let's go over to the other room. We'll talk to that man since this one is unwilling."

Ironside continued to run his bluff as he began exiting the interrogation room. Josh began to panic. "I said wait, Ironside!"

Mark Jackson stepped in again. "I told you not to talk to him. He can hold you for forty-eight hours, after that he has to charge you. He doesn't have enough evidence to do that."

Ironside turned his chair around. "I have the girl he tried to abduct and I have another witness," He looked up at Robert, "a cop at that."

The man's face turned pale as he recognized Robert as the one who stepped in to stop him and the man he was working with. He had been roughing people up for hire for a few years now. This was the first time he had gotten caught. "What kind of deal will you give me?"

"I don't give deals," Ironside told him. "All I will do is tell the district attorney you cooperated with the police. He will look favorably on that."

"That is not much of a deal, Ironside," he growled.

"And I told you, I don't give deals. You don't seem to get it, Mister? What was your name?"

"Don't answered that!" Mark Jackson said.

"Josh Rockwell," he answered anyway.

The name was now familiar. He was a cheap hood for hire out of San Diego. Up until now, he had not been caught or charged. "Well, Mister Rockwell, what will it be? I don't need you and I am willing to leave here right now, so make up your mind," Ironside bluffed.

"Don't talk to him. He is conning you," Jackson said.

"What if he isn't? I am not going down on a kidnapping rap," Josh Rockwell snarled at his attorney.

"I am telling you, he is conning you."

"I don't have any more time for this. Come on, Robert, let's go get the statement from the other one."

Ironside had his chair completely wheeled out of the room before Josh Rockwell called out, "Wait, Ironside, I'll talk."

Robert Ironside wheeled his chair backwards and turned it around. "Who hired you and what for?"

"I don't know who hired us," he said. Ironside frowned and began wheeling towards the door again. "Wait! I am telling you the truth. It was done by telephone. Half the money was put into post office box twenty-three; the rest of the money was to be put there when the girl was delivered."

"Where was she to be delivered?" Robert asked.

"To storage unit thirty-seven outside of town. Place called Joe's Storage. We were supposed to gag her and put her inside. When they found her there, we were to collect the rest of the money," Rockwell told him.

"How did they contact you?" Ironside questioned.

"He had my cellphone number. I don't know where the guy got it. He just called me. We came to San Francisco to see if there really was money in the post office box. Somehow, he knew we picked it up and called us again. He warned us we were being watched and would be killed if we tried to get away with the money without doing the job."

"Did you recognize the man's voice?" Robert asked.

"No, I have never met him before. I am sure of it," Rockwell said.

Ironside turned to the police officer. "Was there a cellphone on this man when he was arrested?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Give it to Sergeant Brown, I want every number he has received a call from checked," Ironside ordered.

"Will do, Chief."

Ironside looked back at Josh Rockwell. "I will tell the district attorney you are cooperating with us. If you continue to cooperate, you just may serve a lot less time."

Robert Duvalier followed his father out of the interrogation room. The two men were met in the hall by Sergeant Brown. "Any luck, Ed?" Ironside asked him.

"None, he refuses to talk. At this point, Chief, we don't even know who he is. He won't give us his name. He doesn't believe we have much on him. According to him, he was not trying to abduct her. He said she attacked them and the other guy stepped in and started fighting with them."

"We have assault with attempted kidnapping. The other one sang like a canary. We also have assault on a police officer."

"Do we know who hired them?" Ed asked.

"No, it was all handled over the phone with the money being left in a post office box," Ironside told him, "but I have no doubt it was Donnie Walker. Proving it is not going to be easy."

An officer approached the three men. He handed a cellphone to Ed Brown who looked back at Ironside.

"That's Josh Rockwell's phone. I want every number on that phone checked. Pay particular attention to numbers that called from this area," the chief ordered. I want to know if Donnie Walker ordered her abduction. And find out who rented the storage unit thirty-seven and post office box twenty-three." He gave Ed the address. "First thing in the morning I want the health department over at Walker's bar. I want it shut down on violations." Ed nodded and left his boss.

Ironside and Robert turned and left the jail. Heading back upstairs, Ironside had every intention of making Donnie Walker's life miserable until he could prove he was the one that attempted to abduct Chong. He would regret not heeding his warning.


	8. Chapter 8

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 8

1

The next morning Kwangsoo was up, showered and gone. Chong had not come home all night. That meant she stayed with his father-in-law. Angry that she was allowing Ironside to interfere with his role as the head of the household, Kwangsoo was at a loss as how to handle the situation. How could he possibly fight back against Chong's foster father? She seemed to respect his opinion more than she did his.

He knew where Donnie Walker's men hung out when not collecting. He headed for Chinatown. Kwangsoo had to talk to Walker. The man apparently did not know he did not owe any money. Going after Chong was something he intended on addressing as soon as he was able to see Walker. He would tell him to stay away from her.

Heading into Chinatown, he rehearsed in his mind what he would say to him. He was not kidding himself, the man and his thugs were dangerous. That is why he had picked up a gun on the black market. He was not taking any chances. Walker was going to leave him and Chong alone or he would shoot him if he had to. Kwangsoo would handle the situation his way without the help of Ironside. He had always taken care of his own problems back home. Ironside was not needed to solve his personal or financial problems.

After last night's disastrous scene, he was more determined to stop the police detective from meddling in his life. Chong was his wife and it was up to him to take care of her, not Ironside. He would not accept the man's offer of money. He didn't care how long it took. Kwangsoo would make it through school without his help. He wanted nothing to do with Ironside. The man simply made his life miserable.

Kwangsoo walked into the alley behind a row of Chinese restaurants. Sure enough there were four or five guys hanging out together. He walked over to them.

"Well, look what we have here," one of them said. "If it isn't the cop's son."

"I am not his son," Kwangsoo correct. He is my wife's father, not mine.

"Oooo...do we detect a bit of resentment to the crippled cop?" another said. The rest of them started laughing.

"So have you come to pay up?" the one that seemed to be the leader asked. "If not, we may just break a leg or two."

One of them called out, "Let's break both!"

Kwangsoo ignored their taunting and made it clear why he was there. "I want to see Donnie Walker."

"Now just why do you think he would want to see you?" the leader questioned.

"Because, if he doesn't see me, I go straight to Ironside. I have not done that yet, but I will if he doesn't see me," Kwangsoo threatened.

That seemed to sober up every one of them. The leader pulled a phone out of his pocket and made a phone call. He walked away from the group so his words could not be heard. A minute later, he came back. "Okay, Mister Cop, he said he would see you."

"I am not a cop," Kwangsoo said, correcting him again.

"Your Ironside's son. That is as good as being a cop."

"I told you I am not his son. Now, take me to see Donnie Walker. "

"Right this way, cop," the man said with a sweeping gesture of his hand.

Ignoring the cop's remark, Kwangsoo followed them to a vehicle. He did not want to get in, yet he did not see where he had a choice. The only way he was going to straighten this out with Walker was to talk to him. He had to make sure he understood he did not owe him any money.

As soon as Kwangsoo got into the vehicle, one of the men slipped in beside him in the back seat. Another got behind the wheel and one in the passenger seat in the front. The man beside Kwangsoo pulled a knife out of his pocket, hit the button and the switch-blade opened with a large blade.

Grinning at Kwangsoo, the man ran his fingers down the length of the blade. "Do you know what one of these things can do to you?"

"Do you know what Ironside can do to you?" Kwangsoo countered, wondering why he had used the detective's name in the first place.

The smile disappeared from the man's face and he closed the blade, placing the knife back in his pocket. He said nothing further as they traveled through the streets of San Francisco. Neither of the other two men spoke to him either. Kwangsoo was relieved. He had nothing to say to them anyway. They were just trying to intimidate him. He would show no fear to any of them. This would all be settled when he could speak to Donnie Walker.

After a twenty minute ride, they pulled into a club bar. Kwangsoo was not familiar with the place. He did not approve of this type of establishment. They allowed people to partake of all the alcohol they wanted, fights broke out and those under the influence quite often killed people driving cars when they should not have been allowed to drive. He did not understand how America could allow such behavior. It was not acceptable in his country. America might be the land of opportunity, but it had lost its moral compass, of that Kwangsoo was certain.

They entered a door at the back of the bar and turned left down the hall. At the end of it was a door with a light on in the inside. The leader of the gang of thugs knocked on the door.

"Come it," a voice said from the inside.

The leader opened the door and pushed Kwangsoo into the room. He looked around. It was drab with only one big desk and an extra chair. Obviously the man was not very successful to operate from this dive.

"You must be Ironside's son-in-law," Donnie Walker said.

At least he got it right. He could not help his relationship to Ironside, since he was married to his foster daughter. "I am. I came to straighten things out with you."

Walker smiled. "Good! You have the money then?"

Momentarily confused, Kwangsoo stumbled his words. "I...don't...understand. I don't owe you any money. I paid up the account with the previous collector."

"You did not pay the amount you should have paid because of Ironside's interference. The interest was not paid on this account."

"But, I was told the interest I paid was correct and the going rate."

Walker smiled again. "We do not charge the going rates. You see, Chief Ironside is the one that decided you didn't have to pay the entire amount, not the collector. I have taken over his accounts and you not only owe the remaining interest, but also the interest that has been added to the account since then. Your balance is now two-thousand-dollars."

Kwangsoo's eyes widen. "Two-thousand dollars! That is more than double what I originally borrowed including the interest!"

Donnie shrugged his shoulders. "That's what you get for not paying the correct amount. Interest compounds the debt. Now, I am assuming you did not come here prepared to pay off your account."

"I did not. I don't owe you any money and I have no intentions of paying you one cent," Kwangsoo said angrily.

The loan shark tilted his head. "I really would not like to see anything happen to that pretty little wife of yours."

"Don't you go near her. Chief Ironside knows about the attack upon her and he will not allow you to hurt her. If you touch her again, I will tell him what you have been doing to me!"

Donnie calmly pushed the button under his desk. A minute later, two men opened the door and came into his office. He nodded at them. One grabbed Kwangsoo from behind. The other began slugging him in the stomach and face. They worked him over for several minutes before Donnie put up his hand to indicate it was enough.

"Now you listen Mister Yung, and you listen very closely. You will be paying that money, and with interest added every day you don't bring it into this office. If you go to Ironside, you will regret it, but more importantly, your little woman will regret it even more. I am not the least bit scared of Ironside. He can't touch me or my men. I will make sure nothing can be traced back to me. Unless you want to visit your wife in the hospital, I suggest you start coming up with some of the money you owe me. Now get this piece of garbage out of my office."

The two men roughly grabbed Kwangsoo and dragged him out of Donnie's office. They took him to the front door and threw him out. They did not offer to take him back to where they picked him up. He would have to find his own way back. Kwangsoo looked at his watch. He did not have much time if he was going to be on time for work.

In Donnie Walker's office, he waited for his men to come back. When they came into his office, they stood there waiting for further instructions. Walker sat behind his desk thinking about the steps he wanted to take next. He figured Kwangsoo Yung would not go to Ironside as he stated. The young man seemed to resent any interference by Robert Ironside when it came to his wife or money. That played directly into Donnie's hands. It left him with a wide latitude to do exactly as he pleased with Yung. Donnie chuckled. He was going to make a fortune off Ironside's son-in-law. The man would find a way to get the money Donnie wanted, simply because he was to proud to ask Ironside for help.

Walker's men were getting impatient. They wanted to know what they would be doing next. "Come on, Boss, what are you thinking?"

"I am thinking we have to let Mister Yung know we mean business."

"I thought that is what we just did," one of them said.

"It's a start, but I want money flowing from him and I want it to start immediately."

"So what do you want us to do?"

"I want Ironside's daughter picked up. Yung will be more apt to cooperate."

"That is not going to be easy after we screwed up the last attempt to pick her up. Ironside will be watching her more closely."

Walker waved a hand as if it was not a problem. "He can't protect her forever. We will keep an eye on her."

"Okay, Boss." The two men turned and left his office.

The more Donnie Walker thought about it, the better it sounded to pick up Chong Yung. Not only would it force Kwangsoo Yung to cooperate, but it would help control Ironside as well. He was getting impatient. He felt there was a lot of money to collect from Yung. The young man would be forced to tap Ironside for the money. That made it twice as good. If Ironside thought he could come into Donnie's place and threaten him, he was going to find out he was not dealing with the petty thugs of San Francisco. He had bested Chicago's finest as well as Miami's. He knew how to get around the law and the dumb cops who were charged with enforcing it.

2

Ironside was up early, showered, shaved and eating his breakfast when Ed and Eve came into the office. Robert Duvalier came out of the guest bedroom. Mark brought Robert's breakfast from the kitchen and placed it on the table in front of him as he sat down beside his father.

"Ed, I want you and Fran to pick up Brian James for questioning now that we know who he is. He is definitely the man that approached me in the police garage," Ironside ordered.

Brown took a sip of the coffee Mark had set in front of him. "Okay, Chief."

Ironside watched his two officers sitting at the table drinking their coffee. With impatience, he said in a calm soft voice. "Some time today, Sergeant."

That sent Ed and Fran into motion. They both set down their coffee cups and headed out the door. They knew when to heed the chief's hints...that weren't really hints but orders to move immediately.

After they had left the office, Robert Duvalier was grinning. When his father noticed, he growled, "Just what is so amusing, Mister Duvalier?"

"You. You could have let them finish their coffee. Five minutes would not have made that much difference," Robert said.

"Five minutes could mean the difference of whether James is on or left the scene. Delay is in his favor not ours."

Robert could see his father was in no mood to be challenged. If there was one thing he had learned about the detective was once he had made up his mind, challenging him or disagreeing with him was a waste of time. He wasn't about to budge. "Alright, I'll let you have that one."

Ironside looked at his son and said sarcastically, "You will let me have it? I already have it and you know I am right."

Robert grinned again. His father hated to lose on any point. However, in this case, he was probably right. "I will concede that you are right. I would like to talk to you about Donnie Walker."

"What about him?" Ironside asked.

"I have been doing some research on him."

Ironside turned his chair towards his son. "Is that right?"

Robert smiled. "Yes, it is right. I have found out some interesting details. As you already know, he came to San Francisco from Chicago where he was loan sharking there. According to the Chicago Police department he is very resourceful. Also, he never involves himself in any of the illegal collection, at least not to the point he can be arrested. One of his favorite tactics is to hire out-of-town talent to do the real dirty work. Sergeant Borden, a Chicago Police detective said they were never able to tie him to any of his illegal activities because he made sure it never led to him. He told me no police department was going to outsmart this guy."

Ironside raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

Again, Robert smiled at his father. That amounted to a challenge to Ironside. To him, there was no such thing as an untouchable crook. Sooner or later they made a mistake and the wheelchair-bound detective was there to capitalize on it. "I didn't say he was untouchable, the Chicago Police did."

Ironside held back a smile. He already knew all of this information as he and his staff had been doing some checking on Walker and his organization. "We already know he hires out-of-town talent. We have two of them in our jail. The key is to tie those men to him."

"He will have made it very hard," Robert said.

"That is obvious since the men don't even know who hired them. The key, Robert is the money trail. That will be your job. Follow the money trail," his father told him.

"I will be happy to despite the fact I am on vacation," Robert said, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly with amusement.

"What the blazes is a vacation? Every time I take one I end up in a criminal investigation," Ironside said. "You wanted to be a police detective so get use to it. Now get going."

Robert stood up. "I don't get to finish my coffee either, I see."

"All the more for me," Ironside said with a grin. Robert shook his head and left the office.

Robert Ironside reached for the phone and dialed. He waited until he got an answer. When he did, he told the officer, "Tell Lieutenant Reese to report to my office, and tell his boss the lieutenant will be with me the rest of the day.

Carl did not work directly for the chief. Only Ed and Eve did, but when Ironside requested the services of an officer, no one in the department questioned it. He was the boss as far as they were concerned. They always bowed to his needs. Within a few minutes, Carl walked through the doors. "Hi Chief, I was told you wanted to see me."

"We are going to pay a visit to the health department, and then we are going to visit Donnie Walker. Mark!"

Mark came out of the kitchen. "My hearing is just fine, Chief. You don't need to shout," the young man said.

Ironside ignored his remark and told him, "Stay here with Chong and let her sleep as long as she needs to. We will be back later."

"I am surprised she can sleep at all with the yelling," Mark said as he returned to the kitchen.

One hour later Carl Reese pulled the chief's van in front of Walker's place. Ironside got into the lift and pushed the button. As he wheeled off the lift, they were met there with a member of the health department. "Let's go, gentlemen."

Lieutenant Carl Reese and Gary Jaworski headed into Donnie Walker's establishment. One of Walker's men met them at the door.

"Sorry, Ironside, you are not welcome here. Mister Walker is not going to put up with you harassing him."

"It doesn't matter whether I am welcome or not. I am here on official business. Step aside or Lieutenant Reese will be more than happy to arrest you."

He stood there for a moment as if undecided as how to handle the situation. Knowing Ironside meant what he said, he was not about to try and stop him no matter how mad his boss got. He moved out of their way.

"Is Donnie Walker here?" Carl asked.

"He's in the back. We are getting ready to open."

"You can forget about opening. This place will be shut down as soon as the inspection is completed," Ironside told him. "Now, go get your boss."

He disappeared through the door and returned with Donnie Walker. When Walker saw Ironside, he yelled, "Get the hell out of my place, Ironside and don't come back."

"This is official business, Mister Walker. This gentleman is Gary Jaworski. He is with the health department."

Walker's face turned red with anger. "This is harassment, Ironside. You can't get away with it."

"Start your inspection, Mister Jaworski," Ironside ordered.

"He is not going anywhere in my place without an escort," Walker insisted, his tone completely hostile.

"You will not interfere with Mister Jaworski's investigation. Go ahead, Gary," Ironside told him. "Carl, go with him." Reese joined Gary Jaworski as Donnie Walker stared at Ironside.

"You are going to regret this, Ironside," he said angrily.

"You are in no position to threaten me, Mister Walker. I saw violations when I was in here and reported them. It is as simple as that."

"You and I both know that isn't true. This is nothing more than harassment because you believe I am trying to collect money from your son-in-law, which is ridiculous. I have never met him."

"You sent two men to abduct Chong. I have warned you to stay away from Kwangsoo and Chong. You are now a personal project of mine. I intend to shut you down, Mister Walker. I am going to put you where you belong, in jail."

"I am going to file a complaint with the police department! You have no right to harass me!"

"And you have no right to extort money from the citizens of San Francisco. You prey on those that are having financial difficulties and once you have your hooks into them, you never quit taking their money. You made a mistake coming to my city. I intend to nail you."

Walker was fuming. He looked to see where the man from the health department was. When he did not see him, he turned to leave to find him and Lieutenant Reese.

"You will stay right here, Mister Walker. You are not going to interfere with the inspection. If you don't, I will have Lieutenant Reese arrest you."

"You are going to pay for this, Ironside. No stupid cop gets away with treating me this way."

"Unfortunately for you, I am not a stupid cop. You are the one in trouble, not me."

"You will be when I file a complaint," Walker countered.

"If you believe that, you are not as clever as you think. How many violations will the Health Department come up with?" Ironside stared at him with his famous poker face.

Walker said nothing. He sat down at the bar and waited. Thirty minutes later Reese and Jaworski returned. After checking the bar, they returned to Ironside and Walker.

"Well?" Ironside inquired.

"Chief, I have twenty-one violations. As of right now, I am shutting this place down until all of the violations have been corrected. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Chief Ironside." Jaworski turned to Walker and handed him a copy of his report. "You are ordered to cease from carrying on any business until all of those violations are corrected. When they are, you can call the Health Department for another inspection."

"I want a copy of that report," Ironside said.

Jaworski handed Ironside a copy. Ironside looked it over and a smirk appeared across his face. "I am certain when I send this to the Liquor Board, your liquor license will be revoked. Good luck getting it back, Mister Walker. The police department will fight it every step of the way."

"Why, you bastard!" Walker took a step towards Ironside, but Carl stepped in between them.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Walker. You are in enough trouble as it is. You touch the chief, and I will arrest you for assault on a police officer." Walker backed off.

"You are finished using this place as a front for your illegal activities. As soon as I get the evidence I need, I will be back to have you booked." Ironside turned his chair around and headed for the door.

Carl grinned at Walker. "It is never a good idea to piss off Chief Ironside." He turned and followed the chief out of Walker's place.

Donnie Walker stood there watching them leave. Rage welded up within him. He had never had a cop be as bold as Ironside had just been. Despite the fact the bar-restaurant was not his major business, it still brought in a lot of money. Now that money had come to a complete halt. Could Ironside actually end his liquor license, and would he not be able to get it back? Sure, he made money on the slop he served as food, but most of his money came from the bar. Without the liquor, the place was out of business.

He had never run into a cop that so boldly affected him before with no evidence. Ironside could not prove he had been attempting to collect from Kwangsoo Yung. There was no evidence he had anything to do with trying to abduct Chong Yung. Yet, there wasn't much he could do about it. He could file a complaint with the police department. However, it would not do him much good. Ironside was powerful in this city and then there were the violations. The damn cop would hide behind those as justification for what he had done. Donnie had no doubt he would get away with it too.

He never let any cop get the better of him and he was not about to allow Ironside. "Brian!"

From out of the back, Brian James enter the bar. "Yes, Boss."

"That damn Ironside!" He threw the violations report at him.

Brian looked the report over and said, "I told you not to mess with Ironside. No one in their right mind messes with that cop. He's just down-right mean."

Donnie punched him in the face. "I am sick of your admiration of that damn cop. He is going to pay for this. I want his daughter picked up. She is going to die and we are going to frame his son-in-law for the murder."

Brian got up from the floor. "That's crazy. He will never stop coming after you if you do that!"

"You just do as you are told. I don't care how you do, but do it! And don't think of running. I will find you and you will be dead right along with her. You got that!" He grabbed Brian by the collar and shoved him backwards into one of the tables and stormed out of the bar.


	9. Chapter 9

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 9

1

Brian James left Donnie Walker's bar. How did he ever get mixed up with such a crazy son-of-a-bitch? Kill Ironside's daughter? The man was insane! Ironside would not only come after Walker, he would come after all those involved in the killing. The cop was mean and he was relentless. No one in their right mind would mess with the man, wheelchair or not.

He got into his car, started it up and pulled the vehicle out of the parking lot. What the hell was he going to do? First of all, he did not want to mess with Ironside. Secondly, he could not kill someone. When he took the job, Donnie Walker told him he would simply be his right-hand man for the bar. He said nothing of his loan shark business. Brian had been desperate for a job. He had been out of work for month, lost his car, got kicked out of his apartment and was living in the streets. Then he met Walker.

Donnie Walker approached him not long after he arrived at skid-row. He supposed he was still fairly clean and had not yet lost much weight for lack of food. He had asked him if he was good at taking orders. Of course, Brian had told him he was. What else did Walker expect him to say under the circumstances? Walker told him he might have a job for him. Furthermore, he would put him up in an apartment, which actually turned out to be a one-room dive. Still, it was better than sleeping in the street on skid-row. He accepted the job and went to work for Walker. It had turned out to be the worst mistake of his life. He had been better off on skid-row.

Not long after he was hired, Donnie had him collecting. When he was reluctant to break bones, Walker had one of his men break Brian's right thumb. With no medical insurance, it had to heal on its own, and it healed crooked. A reminder for the rest of his life the mistake he had made. Over the time he had been working for Walker, the work had become even more objectionable. He was beating up people for Donnie and if something really bad had to be done, Brian had to hire out-of-town talent to do the job. Nothing tied Walker to any of it. Nothing, that is except Brian himself.

Brian may have been naive, but he wasn't stupid. If he realized he could tie Walker to his illegal activities, then there wasn't much doubt that Donnie Walker knew it as well. That could only mean one thing. If Ironside got the goods on Walker, then Brian was a dead man. Ironside would want him to testify against Walker and his operation. That would be the last thing on God's green earth that Donnie would allow. In other words, Brian was a dead man, and he knew it.

He continued to drive around San Francisco, trying to find some way out of his dilemma, but if there was one, it certainly had alluded him. If he ran, he was certain Donnie was a man of his word. He would hunt him down, or rather pay some goons to do it, and they would kill him. If he stayed, with the way Walker was obsessed with going head-to-head with Ironside, he was bound to end up in jail. Brian would go down with him, for guys like Walker acted tough; they beat up others, maybe even killed a man or two, but they were essentially cowards. If caught by Ironside, and he would be, he would sing like a canary. Donnie Walker would take everyone of them down with him.

Ironside was known for refusing to make deals. If you talked, he would say, the judge might go easier on you. That was a load of crap and Brian knew it. If you could not get a deal out of Ironside, you were going to spend the better part of your life in prison. So, it appeared he had three choices; stick with Walker and be murdered when Ironside got too close, run and be killed by Walker after he hunted him down, or talk to Ironside and spend the rest of his life in jail. Some choices! He didn't like any of them.

Maybe there was a way out of it. He could kidnap Chong as Walker had requested, hold her somewhere and let Donnie think he had killed her. That would buy him some time until he could figure out what to really do. Yeah, that was the ticket. The problem was, how was he going to do it. Ironside was keeping a very close watch on her. He had to find a way to outsmart Ironside at least for the moment. But how? Had anyone ever outsmarted that cop? What a mess he was in.

2

Ed and Fran entered the closed-down bar of Donnie Walker and found it deserted. Headed for the back, they walked down the hall to Walker's office. Sergeant Brown did not wait for an invitation to enter the office, he simply turned the knob and pushed the door open. Behind the desk, Donnie Walker was on the phone. He looked up and rolled his eyes at the sight of Brown and Belding. Now what? He had all the problems he could handle at the moment. What was Ironside's officers doing here? More harassment?

"I'll have to call you back," he told his caller. He hung up the phone and stood up. "What the hell do you want. Tell Ironside to go..."

"I would be careful if I were you Mister Walker," Fran said. "The chief is a rather sensitive man. He doesn't like being called names." She almost laughed at the words that came out of her mouth. The chief might be sensitive when it came to kids and the people he loved, but he sure had no sensitivity for crooks. She noticed the look Ed had given her after her statement.

"I don't give a damn. That was my lawyer. I am suing Ironside and the entire police department for harassment. You two are just adding to the charges."

Ed step further into the room and Fran followed him. "Go a head and waste your money if you want to. Those twenty-one violations will prove Chief Ironside was not only acting under the law, but also seeing to it that this establishment was no longer putting the public's health in danger.

Donnie was seething. He really had not been talking to a lawyer. He had been hoping it would intimidate them into leaving. Walker should have known better considering who they worked for. "State your business and get the hell out of my club, Brown."

"You should be more hospitable, Mister Walker," Fran said with a smile. "We are not here to see you."

The loan shark sat back down behind his desk. "Is that right?"

"It is," Ed confirmed. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a warrant. Stepping forward, the sergeant dropped the paper on Walker's desk. "We have a warrant for Brian James. Where is he?"

Donnie unfolded the warrant, read it and tossed it back towards Brown. "How the hell would I know. I never heard of him."

"That's not what we heard. We hear he works for you," Fran said.

"You heard wrong. So if that is all you are here for, you can leave now."

"I think we will take a look around instead," Ed said.

"Like hell you will. Now get out!" Walker shouted.

Ed pointed at the warrant on Donnie's desk. "That gives us the right to look around. If you try to stop us, we will be more than happy to give you overnight accommodations in the jail at Police Headquarters. So make up your mind, Walker."

Donnie had read the paper and knew he could not stop them. It didn't matter anyway as Brian was not in the bar anywhere and never would be again. He stood up defiantly, and said, "Do it and get out."

Ed stepped over to the closet, opened it and looked inside. It was nothing out of the ordinary and too small for a man to hide in. He closed the door, and he and Fran headed out of Walker's office.

"Do you really think I am hiding a man I don't know in the closet, pig?" he called after them.

Fran and Ed ignored his insult. They looked down the hall. There were three doors on the other side of the hall and two on the side where Donnie Walker's office was located. Ed looked at Fran, "You take that side, I'll check the ones on this side." Fran nodded and went to work.

Ed opened the door to the room right next to where Walker's office was located. There was a reason it was located quite a ways from him. It was the room where all the alcohol was kept. It had been inventoried and would be again if Walker ever cleared up the twenty-one violations. Ed figured the chief would keep good on his promise to see that his liquor license was revoked. There were no closets or anything else connected to the room, so Ed surmised Brian James could not possibly be hiding there.

He continued down the hall and check the other room on his side. It was the kitchen. Ed went in and the filth just about turned his stomach. No wonder the place was shut down. It looked like a candidate for one of those television shows about kitchen nightmares. Again he concluded Brian James was not in there.

He met Fran at the end of the hall. "Any luck?" he asked her.

"None, he isn't here," Fran said. "One of those rooms is a bedroom," she told him.

"Business must not be very good if he has to live here," Ed said. "Let's go back and talk to Mister Walker."

"I am not so sure he wants to talk to us," Fran said with a smile. She followed him back to Donnie Walker's office.

Ed again pushed the door open, and he and Fran entered.

"Why the hell are you still here? If you are done, get the hell out!" Walker shouted.

Ed walked over to the desk, placed his hands on it and said, "If Brian James shows up, I would suggest you contact us." Fran dropped one of Ironside's cards on his desk. "Otherwise, you will be arrested for harboring a fugitive from justice. Got that, Walker?" Ed asked.

"I told you I have never heard of him," Walker said.

"Yeah, right," Ed said. "Just remember you were warned." He stood up and left the office with Fran following.

Walker picked up the phone and dialed as soon as they were gone. "We have a problem. Ironside is trying to find Brian. I want him eliminated. I don't want him falling into Ironside's hands. Make it happen." He hung up the phone.

3

With a warrant in hand, Robert Duvalier enter the Wells Fargo Bank. He approached the receptionist who greeted him with a smile. "I know you. I remember seeing your picture in the San Francisco Chronicle back when that maniac was blowing up bombs in the city. Your Chief Ironside's son."

Robert thought his relationship to Robert Ironside had not been revealed in the papers. He wondered how this woman actually knew. Since it had no bearing on what he was doing, it was not of importance anyway. He ignored the comment and pulled the warrant out of his suit coat pocket and handed it to her. "I am with the Montreal Police, temporarily working a case with Chief Ironside. I need the records to the bank accounts listed in that warrant."

"Just a moment, sir. I have to get my boss." She disappeared for a moment and returned with a tall slender man with graying hair and green eyes.

"I am the bank manager, Gordon Barton," the man said in a very authoritative voice.

"Detective Duvalier from Montreal. I am working with Chief Ironside." He pulled his police credentials out of his suit coat and showed them to the bank manager, then handed him the warrant. I need access to those records.

Barton studied the warrant for a moment and then said, "Right this way, Detective." Robert followed him into the back where the manager's office was located.

Gordon Barton sat down behind his desk and began typing on the computer. He studied it for a moment and then said, "This is the one account you are looking for, Detective. It is the account for Mister Walker's Night Club. He hit the print icon and the printer immediately came to life. "I am going back one year, will that be sufficient?"

Knowing his father, he didn't think it would. "Take it back to when he opened the bar."

Barton looked up at him. Obviously he wasn't pleased, but he said, "Alright, we'll print it to when he opened the account." His fingers flew over the keyboard and pretty soon the printer was again printing more information on his account.

"Is there a joint owner on the account?" Robert asked.

"No, he is the only listed owner of the nightclub."

"What about transfers to other accounts?"

Barton shook his head. "No, there doesn't appear to be any of those either. He rarely comes in here. He sends one of his boys in with the deposits. Look, you can see they come in almost daily." He pointed at the account transactions.

"Is it the same man that makes the deposits or are there several?" Robert asked.

"Usually the same man, but occasionally someone else brings in the deposit."

"This shows that a deposit was brought in the day before yesterday."

"That is correct."

"Was it the same man that brought it in or one of the others?"

"I believe it was the same man," Barton said.

"Would your security cameras have a video of him?" Robert asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Could I get a photograph of him and the time he was in ?"

"Certainly. I can access that from here without having to go to the room the system is in." He once again began typing on the keyboard. This time the printer behind him printed out a picture on much heavier paper. He took the photograph off the printer and handed it to Robert.

Duvalier looked it over and smiled. "Thank you. You have been very helpful. I will tell Chief Ironside."

"Unless there is something else you need, I have a lot of work to do," Barton said.

"Well actually there might be. Does he have a safety deposit box?"

"Yes, he does."

"I would like it opened, so I can see what is inside it."

Barton shook his head. "I am sorry, Detective, but your warrant did not say anything about a safety deposit box."

"I see. Well then, I guess I will be back with that warrant." Robert got up and headed for the door. He turned back. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"My pleasure," Barton said.

Robert left the bank and headed for his car. After slipping in behind the wheel, he pulled out his cell phone and called his father.

"Ironside," said the gruff voice of his American father.

"Papa, I have the printouts on Walker's accounts. He has a personal account and a business account. Neither one is of much help. He makes regular deposits into the accounts, but they are all about the same size. No large deposits are made into the business account, nothing more than you would expect him to make in an evening."

"What about the personal account?" Ironside asked.

"Just a personal checking account. Nothing out of the ordinary there either."

"And the safety deposit box. Does he have one?"

Robert cringed. He had forgotten to have that put in the warrant, only remembering it at the last moment. "I did not have it put in the warrant."

"Why not?"

"I didn't think of it at the time."

"Robert, we need to know if he has one and what is in it," Ironside said. "He could be hiding money in there."

"He has one. I remembered it when I was with the bank manager, but he would not let me into it."

"Naturally, it wasn't in the warrant," Ironside said sarcastically, thinking Ed would not have let that get by him. However, Robert was fairly new to detective work. He would learn.

"I'll get the warrant and go back," Robert told him.

"You do that," Ironside said and hung up the phone.

Robert put his cellphone back in his pocket, started the car and headed back to the courthouse.

4

Ed hung up the phone and looked over the list of phone numbers on Josh Rockwell's phone. The hired assassin's phone had many numbers on it, and several from the San Francisco area.

Fran watched her colleague. She could tell from the look on his face the news was not good. "Well?"

"He has several calls from this area, but none of them are to Walker's bar," he answered.

"Naturally, he would not allow such an obvious connection. Can any of the numbers be tied to him?" Fran asked.

"Not a one. The ones that are from San Francisco are from throw away phones. They were used exactly once."

"Is there a chance we can tie the phones to Walker?"

Ed shrugged. "I doubt it, but we are going to try. I was able to find out where they were purchased."

"Different stores?" Fran asked.

"Naturally," Ed said. "This guy is clever."

"Like the chief says, all crooks slip up sooner or later," Fran said.

"Yeah, well, I have a feeling with this guy it is later, much later," Ed said. "Let's go check them out."

5

Billy Morton was about to get out of his car when he saw Robert Duvalier come out of the Wells Fargo Bank. What was the damn cop doing there. Billy knew he was Ironside's son and was a cop from Montreal. He had to be at the bank for Ironside. It was the only explanation for him being there.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. After dialing Donnie Walker's number, he waited for him to answer.

"Walker," Donnie said.

"Boss, we may have a problem," Billy told him.

"What are you talking about?" Donnie growled.

"I just saw Ironside's kid come out of the bank, and he was carrying paperwork."

"Damn Ironside! He has been checking my bank accounts!" Walker took a second to compose his anger. "Did he have a box with him?"

"No, Boss, no box."

"Then he didn't get into the safety deposit box." He made an instant decision. "You stay right there. I am on my way over."

He slammed the phone down, reached into his bottom desk drawer and pulled out the key to the safety deposit box. Ironside's kid must have forgotten to add the safety deposit box to the warrant. If he hadn't known about it, the bank manager probably would have told him. He had to get the money out of there before Duvalier came back with another warrant. He had a ton of money in that box, and he sure as hell did not want to be forced to explain where it came from.

Walker rushed out of the office, locked the bar and went directly to the Wells Fargo Bank. Spotting Billy, he headed straight for him. "You make the deposit and I'll clear out the safety deposit box." The two men headed in to the bank. Billy stepped up to the teller window as Donnie went over to the vault. Morton watched him speak to the clerk that was in charge of the vault. She disappeared for a minute and returned with a rather large box. Morton watched as she unlocked the vault and Donnie went in.

Billy completed the transaction and went outside to wait for Walker. He didn't wait long as Walker came out with the box. He crossed the street and came directly to Billy. Handing him the box, he said, "You know what to do."

"Yes, Boss."

"And Billy, I know exactly how much is in that box," he said as a warning to Morton.

"I wouldn't take any, Boss. You can trust me," Billy said.

Donnie didn't trust anyone but himself. Unfortunately, he didn't want to be caught with a box of money. Billy knew where to take it. Now he had to give him time to deposit the money, and he would transfer the money overseas. Damn it! It was getting harder to stay a step ahead of Ironside.

Where the hell was Brian? He was supposed to be picking up Ironside's daughter. He would keep her alive just long enough to get Ironside to back off. If the cop realized his daughter was in danger, he would leave Donnie alone. That was where the crippled cop was vulnerable.

6

Robert Duvalier arrived back at the bank with the warrant in hand. He headed directly for the bank manager's office. As soon as Gordon Barton saw him, he shook his head.

"You are too late. Donnie Walker was just in. He went into the vault and came out with a box of things he took out of his safety deposit box."

"Why didn't you stop him?" Robert said.

"Stop him, how? I had no legal right to stop him," Barton said.

"You could have delayed him and called Chief Ironside," Robert said a bit irritated.

"We are not the police. You did not tell me to call Chief Ironside if he showed up."

Robert pounded his fist on the bank manager's desk. "Damn it!" After calming down, he gave Barton the warrant. "I want the safety deposit box opened."

"Didn't you hear me, he cleared it out," Barton growled.

"I am not going back to Chief Ironside without looking into that box. There's the warrant, open the box!"

Disgusted, the bank manager got up and said, "Follow me." He led Robert to the safety deposit vault and told the clerk, "Go get Ryan and tell him to bring the drill." The clerk left immediately.

When the drilling was complete, the door was opened and Robert pulled the box out. It was drilled and opened. What Robert had feared was correct. The box was empty. His father was not going to be happy and it was his fault.


	10. Chapter 10

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 10

1

Brian James was at a loss as to what to do. If he did what Walker wanted him to do, Ironside would hunt him down. Of that, he had no doubt. He would tear San Francisco apart looking for his foster daughter. The detective was not a stupid cop. He would eventually find her...and consequently him as well. He did not want to spend years in jail courtesy of Donnie Walker. On the other hand, if he didn't do as he said, he was a dead man. Even if he ran, Walker would find him. He had done it with other guys in the past.

James had heard the stories Billy Morton and Davie Fryman had told him. They had come with Walker from Chicago. Both of them had been working for Walker for years, going from city to city when the police got close to enough evidence to arrest him, and shut down his operation. Brian wondered just how close Ironside was to that now. Would he be better off making a deal with the cop? He could help Ironside, He had been working for Donnie Walker since he had come to San Francisco. He saw no sense in kidnapping Ironside's foster daughter. He had lived in this city most of his life. Having watched crook after crook be arrested by the crippled cop, he certainly did not want to become one of them.

He had to make a decision. He could not go on this way. If he did, he was either going to be wasted by Donnie, or arrested by Ironside. But what decision should he make? If he went to the cop, he was known as "No Deal Ironside." Still he might be able to get a deal from the district attorney if he helped them take down Walker. He would have to serve some time, but at least he would be alive. That is more than Donnie would give him.

Brian James had made up his mind. He was going to go to Robert Ironside. He was his only chance. Donnie Walker did not trust him. He did trust Billy and Davie. Picking up another guy like himself would not be a problem for Donnie. There were many guys on the street that would be more than happy to work for Walker and Brian knew it. San Francisco was not a city that was short of crooks.

Brian's mind was made up. He was going to take his chances with the San Francisco detective. He had a much higher chance of staying alive.

2

The end of their shift was approaching. Ed Brown and Fran Belding were not looking forward to telling their boss they had been unable to locate Brian James. Ironside was reasonable; he understood there were times they just could not produce what he wanted. They had combed the entire city, interrogated known associates of Donnie Walker, and gone to places James was known to hide out. After almost the entire day of searching, they had not even come close to locating the man.

The officers entered the elevator that would take them to their boss's office. Fran looked over at her co-worker and said, "Well, which one of us is going to deliver the bad news?"

Ed smiled. "That depends entirely on what kind of a mood he is in. If it is good, I'll tell him. It will sour his mood, but at least the roof won't come off the office. If he's already in a sour mood, he's all yours."

Fran chuckled. "Coward."

"When it comes to Robert T. Ironside, you bet ya!" Ed laughed.

The door to the elevator opened. The detectives stepped out. Ed motioned for Fran to go first, thinking he was being a gentleman, but apparently Eve didn't take it that way.

"A gentleman would never let me go into the lion's den first," she said.

Ed just chuckled and followed Fran up the ramp to Ironside's office door. She reached for the knob, turned it and pushed the door open. The detectives entered the office and went down the ramp. Robert Duvalier, Chong and Mark were sitting at the table with the chief eating dinner.

Ironside studied his officers for a moment before saying, "You didn't find him?"

"No, Chief," Ed said. "I swear we checked every place we could think of, and talked to everyone that knows him or associates with Walker. No one knew where he was."

"Or they are not talking," Fran said.

"Did you check Walker's place?" Ironside asked, knowing they would have. Both his officers were very good. They did not forget much.

"Three times, Chief," Ed said. "We were hoping he would report back there."

"He may not only not report back there," Robert said, "but he may not go back there at all. Consider the predicament he is in. If he sticks with Walker, my father is going to take him down. With everything that has been going on, he has to know Walker is in trouble. My money is on him running."

Ironside looked at his son. It was not a bad piece of deduction, but it wasn't completely correct. "He won't run, Robert. He knows Walker's reputation for hunting down those that desert him. No, he is not going to run."

"I don't see him going back to Walker," Robert said. "After all, Walker has to know by now that we are looking for James. Even if he doesn't know that James tried to tip you off, he has to know he can't trust him. He is not like the other two men. He is weak. If we get hold of him, he will sing like a canary."

"Chief, I have to agree with Robert," Fran said. "Brian James knows too much about his business. He is not going to let him live. He can't take that chance. Especially if he wants to stay in business in San Francisco."

Ironside looked over at Ed. "Do you agree with that assessment, Sergeant?"

"I do. It all makes sense. If he sticks around here, he either gets arrested and taken down by you, or he is killed by Walker," Ed repeated.

"You fine people are forgetting one other option open to him," Ironside gruffly said. He watched his officers to see if any of them would see what he considered obvious. When all he got was dead silence from them, he shook his head. "Think, what else might he do to save himself?"

"He could come to you, Father," Chong said.

Ironside turned and looked at his foster daughter with a smile. "Thank you, Officer Chong." She smiled back at her father.

"I don't buy it, Chief," Ed said. "He could have done that the night he approached you, but he didn't."

"He would not have been ready to. We had not shut down the bar and rousted him yet," Ironside said. "He didn't want anything to do with kidnapping Chong, that is why he warned me. Now, the situation is different. He has been a member of this community most of his life..."

"He knows the chief's record, has seen the papers and watched him on television," Mark Sanger interrupted his boss with his own explanation. "He probably figures the chief is the only way he is going to come out of this alive."

"But, if he comes in here, it will most certainly mean a prison term," Robert said.

"It's better than being dead," Ironside countered.

"He might not think so, Chief," Fran said.

"I still think he will chance running," Robert said.

The door to the office opened, Brian James walked in and came down the ramp. "Chief Ironside, I believe you are looking for me."

Ironside looked over at his son and grinned.

3

Donnie Walker watched as the workman continued to correct the violations the health department had listed in their report. Walking back to his office, he went in and shut the door. He sat down at his desk and started going over figures. The kitchen was going to cost him a bundle. That was where they had most of the violations listed. He was being forced to redo the entire room.

He had been having his employees wash the dishes by hand, but no, that was not good enough for health department. Walker had to put in one of those commercial dish washers that had water so hot, you had to wait five minutes after the dishes were done for them to be cool enough to handle them.

The bar was another area that was costing him a lot of money. They didn't like the dispensers he was using for some of his beers. They were forcing him to replace all of them and redesign the entire bar. It was all bullshit as far as Donnie was concerned. Ironside had the entire damn city in his back pocket. If he said jump, they said how high. Well, Ironside's days were numbered. Donnie had dealt with cops like him before. They thought they were smarter, when most of them were just plain dumb. Ironside had never had to deal with anyone like him and he would prove to the stupid cop that you don't mess with Donnie Walker.

He knew what the first thing he had to do, and that was to eliminate Brian James. He never should have hired that weakling in the first place. Donnie should have allowed his boys to go out and find a man for that position. After all, they were perfectly capable of finding a man just like them. Davie and Billy had been with him for over ten years and they never let him down. Even when they had gone to jail, they kept their mouths shut. Donnie always hired a lawyer for them and paid their bail. He took good care of them, and they knew if they ever had to serve time, they would be taken care of while in the pen and after they got out. Both of his boys were completely loyal to him. Neither one was afraid of jail time if it became a reality.

Brian, on the other hand, was a wimp. He would never keep his mouth shut. If he had been more like the other two, he would do for him what he did for the others. Unfortunately for Walker, Brian was weak, extremely weak. He could not allow Ironside to get his hands on him. If he did, everything he had set up in the city of San Francisco would be for nothing. He would lose everything.

Walker was not about to let that happen. He had enjoyed Florida when he had a set up there. Chicago was far more profitable with all the crime the city had. He could operate right under the noses of the police and make a bundle of money, way more than he ever made in Florida. Florida is where all the old people retired. They never needed money, not if they retired to that state. Although he made a decent living, it was nothing like he had made in Chicago. Of course, he had not made that kind of income in San Francisco, but the city had much promise. Every big city had its share of crooks and the criminal element. This one was no different. The only difference he saw with San Francisco was Ironside. He had been a thorn in his side ever since he arrived here.

How the crippled cop had found out about his operation so quickly was unbelievable. It had to be Brian James. How else could Ironside have caught on so easily. He didn't believe for a second all the hype Brian had spewed regarding the cripple. After all, Brian was so easily frightened by the police. Ironside as the big, bad wolf was all in Brian's head, and Walker was going to prove it.

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. "Come in," he told his visitors. The door opened immediately. Billy Morton and Davie Fryman walked in. Walker could tell the answer of the question he was about to ask them by the look on their faces. "How much did you collect today?"

"Nothing," Billy reported regretfully. "Every time we tried, there was a cop there to stop us."

"Damn Ironside! He is putting the squeeze on us. This place is costing me a bloody fortune to bring up to code. Even after it is done, I don't know if Ironside will succeed in keeping us from getting our liquor license back. I am spending a bundle of money and there is nothing coming in because of that damn crippled cop!"

"Boss, we have a suggestion," Davie said. "We have been talking about it all day. It is time we make Ironside pay for what he has done to us. You can't possibly believe that Brian will pick up Ironside's daughter. Even if he does, he hasn't got the temperament to do what has to be done. We would like you to allow us to pick her up. We will hold her and draw in Ironside. We will lead him to believe that the husband is responsible. The thing to do is draw in Ironside, kill his daughter in front of him, and then kill him. Than we are back in business."

Walker thought about it for a minute. It sounded like a sound plan. How much trouble could it be to take the cripple out in the first place? He had allowed this to go on far too long. He liked their plan, and he knew he could trust them to carry it out successfully. "Alright, but first I want you to waste Brian. We can't have him talking to Ironside."

"I am afraid it is too late for that," Billy said.

"What are you talking about?" Donnie said.

"We have been following him most of the day after we finished our collection rounds. We left him when he went into the police station," Davie said.

"Damn that piece of..."

"Relax, Boss. We have it taken care of," Billy said.

"How?"

"Remember the kid you helped a while back. The one that stole from a jewelry store and when he came out the police were waiting," Billy reminded him.

"Yes, I remember. He ducked down an alley and we picked him up so he could avoid the police. What about him? I suggested he apply for the advertised job of serving the prisoners in the jail. Since he has no record, he got the job and has been snitching for us ever since."

Billy grinned. "That's the one. We paid him a healthy chunk of money to kill James. He will be armed with a nice big knife. Owens will take Brian James out right there under their noses."

"What if he gets caught? We can't depend on him to keep his mouth shut. Ironside would scare the hell out of him."

"The beauty of that is he will claim James is sleeping after he kills him and no one will know it until he is out of the building," Davie said.

"So what?" The police will know who he is. They would trace him right back to us if he talks, and he will when Ironside gets done with him."

"Not if he is dead, he won't. We will be there to pick him up. When we get done wasting him, we'll dump him in the bay," Billy said. "Problem solved."

Walker nodded. "I can live with that. Okay, do it, but make sure it works. We have enough problems as it is." Walker watched as the two men left his office.

4

"Come in, Mister James," Ironside called out. "Mark, get him a cup of coffee."

Brian came down the ramp and walked over to Ironside. The chief could see the man was extremely nervous. He just stood there in front of the detective looking at the floor.

"Sit down, Mister James," Ironside told him.

"Then you know who I am?" Brian said.

"I saw you at Walker's bar. It did not take much work to find out who you were from there," Ironside told him.

James continued to look down without saying anything. He was at least sure he had made the right decision. He would have gone down with Walker had he stayed there. Maybe he could get a deal from Ironside.

"Why did you come here, Mister Walker?" Ironside asked, softly. He did not want to intimidate the young man. He was already frightened.

"I want out, Mister Ironside. When I went to work for Donnie Walker, no one said I would be beating up people to collect money from them. Neither did they say I would have to kidnap anyone. I just thought I would be working in the bar as a bartender."

"Why not just leave?" Robert asked him.

"Because Walker hunts down guys who run and kills them. Davie and Billy have told me about some of the guys they killed on Walker's orders. Running would get me killed. Staying with Donnie would get me arrested by you and I would serve a lot more years, that is if Donnie didn't kill me anyway."

"So what are you expecting from me?" Ironside said.

"A deal. Maybe not from you," he said as he saw the look on Ironside's face, "but maybe the district attorney." Brian looked into the detectives eyes.

"I think we can do better than that." Ironside turned to his sergeant. "Ed, the district attorney was in the building earlier. See if he still is. If he is, ask him to come up to my office."

Brown immediately went to the phone and began dialing.

"I couldn't be part of kidnapping your daughter, Mister Ironside. It was bad enough I had to beat up people to get them to pay, but I can't be part of a kidnapping."

"You have a right to an attorney, Mister James. You don't have to talk to us without one. You have rights," Ironside told him.

"I don't need an attorney. I am here willingly and will talk," Brian told the detective.

Ed Brown came back to the table. "The District Attorney will be right up, Chief."

While Ironside allowed the young man to talk, they waited for the district attorney. Within a few minutes, Paul Mantee walked into the room. "You wanted to see me, Chief?"

"Yes, come on in, Paul." Mantee joined them at the table taking a seat beside Ironside.

"This is our district attorney, Paul Mantee," Ironside said, introducing him to Brian James.

"I have information for you that will help you put Donnie Walker behind bars," Brian told him as he faced him.

Mantee sat back in his chair. "That would be a prize. What kind of information?"

"Paul, I have no doubt the information he has will do exactly that. Can we give him some kind of deal?"

Mantee looked at Ironside. This was uncharacteristic of the detective. He usually did not appear to anyone that he was willing to give them a deal. He might talk to him privately and make a suggestion of a deal, but never in front of the person seeking it. "What are you proposing, Chief."

"Immunity or community service. The worst this young man has done is be a muscle man for Walker. You know as well as I do, he could not have just walked away," Ironside said.

Mantee smiled. This was too good to be true. He wanted Walker and it seemed he was going to be handed to him on a silver platter. Paul Mantee said nothing for a moment before finally speaking up. "Okay, I will not prosecute if I consider the information you have will lead to the arrest and conviction of Donnie Walker."

"I can give you names of the people Walker ordered Davie Fryman and Billy Morton to kill, and where they are buried. That will also give you the information you need to arrest Fryman and Morton. I can also give you the entire list of people Walker is collecting from. Maybe some of them will turn on him as well. Also, he ordered me to kidnap Chief Ironside's daughter. In other words, I know everything Walker has been into in this city," Brian said. "I have proof of everything I am saying. I have copies of his records."

"Well, Paul?" Ironside questioned.

"You have yourself a deal, Mister James." He looked at his watch. "It is getting late and I have another appointment. I trust you will hold Mister James overnight until we can have a long talk in the morning, Chief?"

"I will. Thanks, Paul. I will have the records he has picked up," Ironside told him."

"Alright then, until tomorrow, Mister James. You made the right decision." Mantee got up and left.

"Where are the records you are talking about, Mister James? Ironside asked.

"In my sister's apartment in Sonoma. She is away visiting friends in New York City. I am watching her apartment for her."

"Give the address to Ed. Tell him where they are and he will pick them up," Ironside said. "Robert, take Mister James to the jail. You will be safer here until we can pick up Walker," Ironside said.

"I understand. Is there any chance I could get something to eat? I haven't eaten all day," Brian said. He handed Ed the keys to the apartment and gave him the address.

"Tell them to send him a tray of food," he told Robert.

Ed left the office as Robert took Brian James downstairs to the jail.

"Fran, I see you took notes."

"Yes, Chief, I did," Fran confirmed.

"Type them up in the computer and leave me a paper copy before you leave."

"Yes, sir."

"Mark, clear off this table, would you please?" Ironside requested. Mark Sanger started removing the dinner dishes and coffee cups and taking them to the kitchen.

"It will take Ed about two hours to drive out there, pick up the records and return. I want them spread out on the table so we can see exactly what we've got," Ironside ordered.

5

Robert left Brian James with the officers in charge of the jail, telling them James was not under arrest but was under protective custody. Once he was in the hands of the officers, he left. On his way back to his father's office, he stopped at the kitchen and requested they send a tray of food up to him.

Kent Owens heard Robert's order. This was as good a time as any. He had been told to kill Brian James as soon as possible. Well, it seemed as if it was going to be possible tonight. Checking to see where the cooks were, Owens moved slowly towards a set of knives that were in a wooden holder. While their attention was elsewhere, he reached over and picked up one of the larger knives that could be concealed in his shirt-sleeve.

"Hey, Kent. Take this tray of food up to the new prisoner they just brought in. It is left overs. I am off in ten minutes. I am not cooking anything for the crook tonight," the main cook called out.

Kent went over to him and picked up the tray. He walked out of the kitchen and headed down the hall to the jail. This was working out better than he thought. He just hoped the guy didn't yell out when he shoved the knife in his chest. He had to get away in order to spend all that money. Kent pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Billy Morton.

When he arrived at the jail, there was only one guard on duty. That was a break. With two of them there, the guards might have insisted they take the tray to James. One had to be at the desk at all times. He entered the room and said, "Tray of food for Brian James ordered by Ironside."

The guard looked up at the kid. He had no choice but to send the kid back into the cells. He got up and unlocked the main gate. "Take it back to him. Here's the key." He hoped his partner got back, this was against protocol. He really should make the kid wait, but his partner had just left to get some dinner himself. He might not be back for an hour. Food was not normally delivered to prisoners at this hour.

After the officer unlocked the main gate, Kent Owens went through and closed it behind him. He went down until he found Brian James. Another break! He was lying on the bed sound asleep on his stomach. Balancing the tray on one hand, he unlocked the cell with the other. Kent set the tray down and approached James. He allowed the knife to slide down his arm, out of his sleeve and into his hand. Kent had to do this right. He could not afford to be covered in blood. He would never get out of here if he was.

Fortunately, since James was not considered a prisoner, but in protective custody, he had not been forced to change into a prison uniform. He was in jeans and wearing a blue-jean jacket. Kent was taught by Davie and Billy exactly where to stab him to stop his heart instantly. Standing over James, he raised the knife and with all the force he could muster, he stabbed him exactly in the middle where he had been told. Fortunately, the jacket absorbed the blood. It did not splatter all over. He checked James's pulse and smiled. He had done it right. Brian James was dead. Now all he had to do was get out of here before the guards found out his condition.

Kent Owens left his cell, locked it and walked back to the main gate. The guard opened it and he came out. "Wouldn't you know, he asked for food and then falls asleep before it arrives," Kent said.

"Well, he can eat it if he awakens. If not, he will get breakfast in the morning. We won't disturb him," the guard said.

Kent left the jail and headed for the elevator. Billy and Davie would be waiting for him. He just wanted to collect his money and get the hell out of San Francisco before Ironside got wind of his dead witness. Taking the elevator to the main floor, he walked over to the desk and checked out. He had to stop himself from running out of the building. As promised, Billy and Davie picked him up.

"Is he dead?" Billy asked, looking at Kent in the rear view mirror.

"He's dead, I made sure," Kent said.

"Excellent!" Billy said.

"When do I get paid?" Kent asked.

"Right now," Davie said. He pulled a silenced gun out of his jacket pocket, turned around and shot Kent Owens in the head. The boy slumped to the floor of the vehicle.

Morton and Fryman took him to the San Francisco Bay and dumped the body in the water.


	11. Chapter 11

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 11

1

"Charlie, you better come in here," Sergeant Norm Stroman said.

"Why?" Officer Charles Fitzpatrick asked.

"Just come in here now!" Stroman shouted.

Fitzpatrick dropped what he was doing and entered the jail. Walking down the aisle of jail cells, he looked both ways to find what cell Stroman was in. He stopped in front of Brian James's cell. "So what's the problem?"

"Take a look at him," Sergeant Stroman said, irritated.

"Just let him sleep."

"Hey, when the hell you guys going to bring us breakfast? It's ten o'clock already," one of the prisoners yelled from further down the jail.

"Just shut up or you won't get any breakfast at all," Officer Fitzpatrick yelled back.

Stroman checked the pulse of Brian James again. The man was certainly dead. "I don't think breakfast is coming at all."

"What the hell are you talking about? So they are a little late, so what?" Fitzpatrick questioned. "Just let him sleep or he will be yelling for his breakfast too."

"He isn't going to be yelling for anything ever again. He's is asleep permanently, Charlie."

Charlie Fitzpatrick entered the cell. "What the hell are you talking about? He's too young to have a heart attack."

"Yeah, but he is not too young to be stabbed to death," Stroman said.

"Stabbed? How? No one has been in here except..."

"Except the guy who delivered his dinner last night," Stroman finished for him, "and he is not here to bring breakfast. What does that tell you?"

"Oh God! Ironside is going to go through the roof. I don't envy you having to be the one that tells him."

Norm Stroman looked him in the eye. "Why should I have to tell him? Why can't you?"

Charlie laughed. "That's easy. You are the ranking officer, you know, head of the jail. You know what Ironside is like. He will expect it to come from you. You were in charge of the shift."

Stroman shook his head. "That is what I get for working a double shift so someone could have the night off. "Call the coroner. I will use the other phone to call Ironside." This was one conversation he was not looking forward to. Maybe he would get lucky and Ironside would not answer the phone. He would much rather talk to that pretty policewoman of his. Who was he kidding? Even if Ironside did not answer the phone, he would be down here as soon as he was told.

"Into the lion's den!" Charlie laughed as he headed for the phone.

2

Chong was washing the dishes when the telephone rang. Mark was not in the office. Every day he checked out Ironside's vehicle and did whatever maintenance was required. Robert Duvalier had already gone out working on the money angle of Donnie Walker. Ironside had sent Sergeant Brown with him. Although his father had assured him it was not to make sure he didn't miss anything, Robert knew better. It was his fault there was nothing in the safety deposit box. He had been kicking himself for not having thought of it. It was a rookie mistake. The young man did not take into consideration that he was a rookie.

Fran Belding was still in the office and picked up the phone. "Chief Ironside's office."

"Fran, Norm Stroman, downstairs in the jail," the sergeant said.

"Hello, Norm," Fran smiled. She had always like the sergeant. He was dedicated and had her boss's approval of his job as well. "How's our guest?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone before Stroman finally said, "That is why I am calling you."

Fran got that feeling she always got when she was certain bad news was about to be delivered. "What happened, Norm?"

"You always were a pretty sharp cookie," Norm said. "It's Brian James. We found him dead in his cell this morning."

"Oh my God! The chief is..."

"Going to blow his stack, I know. Can you tell him to come down right away. I thought he would like to handle this one himself," Norm said.

"I'll tell him and I am sure you are right." Fran hung up the phone.

Chong noticed the look on her face. "What is it, Fran?"

Fran relayed the telephone conversation to her and then said, "I have to tell the chief." She left the main room and headed for his bedroom. Knocking on the door, she called out, "Chief, I need to talk to you."

"Come in," Ironside said on the other side of the door. He had not been feeling well and as usual when that happened, Mark turned off his alarm clock. He was late getting around.

Fran entered and he immediately knew something was wrong. "Out with it," he ordered.

"Brian James has been murdered," she told him.

"Damn it!" he shouted. "How the hell does someone get murdered in a jail cell when he is under police protection?"

"I don't know, Chief. I don't know any more than that. Sergeant Stroman thought you would want to handle this one yourself."

"Let's go," he growled.

Fran stepped aside to allow Ironside to leave the room and enter the main room. As he wheeled up the ramp, he called over his shoulder to Chong. "We are going downstairs. Stay here until I get back."

Chong watched as her foster father wheeled out the door.

3

Kwangsoo had about as much as he could take. Chong was his wife and she belonged with him, not with her father. He didn't care if he was a cop. It was Kwangsoo's job to protect her, not Ironside's. It was time she stopped listening to the detective and started listening to him. Only this time, he was going to take another approach. It was obvious if he attacked Ironside in any way, she would become defensive of him. He would not do that. Kwangsoo had to remember Ironside was only trying to help after all. Because he did not understand their customs, he would continue to interfere with their lives. He had to put a stop to that.

Kwangsoo had been going about it wrong. Instead of complaining about Robert Ironside to her, he had to convince her to let him be the head of the household. She respected her father and was becoming Americanize more every day. He saw nothing wrong with living in America, but wanted to keep the traditions of their own country. After all, America was a very diverse country with many nationalities, many of which did not even speak English! They could embrace all that was good in America and keep the traditions that were better in their own country.

That was how he had to approach the problem. He could not fight Robert Ironside. That was becoming painfully obvious. He should not have to either. Kwangsoo was the head of their family, not Ironside. That was all he wanted her to realize. The constant fighting had to come to an end or their marriage surely would. He did not want that. Kwangsoo loved Chong. In fact, he had never loved another human being more. He just wanted to support her and plot the course of their lives like a man was supposed to do. She did not need to work. That was his job, not hers. Kwangsoo looked up at Police Headquarters. It was no longer the Hall of Justice, but it still housed the police department.

He walked across the street and headed into the building. That was another thing that bothered him. Chong could use the back elevator from the parking garage, but he had to go through the lobby. If Ironside thought of him as his son, he would be able to use the other entrance. Robert Duvalier used it. Obviously Ironside looked upon him as his only son.

Entering the building he went directly to the desk. I would like to see Chief Ironside."

"What is your name and the nature of your business?" the officer demanded.

"I am Kwangsoo Yung. Chief Ironside is my father-in-law," he told him.

The officer perked up. This must be the young man that married Ironside's foster daughter. Not wanting to tangle with the chief, he passed Yung immediately. "Use the elevators right over there, but since you are a member of the chief's family, I am sure you already know that." The officer wondered why the young man was coming through the front doors instead of using the police garage entrance.

Kwangsoo walked away from the officer and headed for the elevators. He kept running the conversation he would have with Chong through his mind. He had to handle this just right or she would never leave Ironside's office with him.

Stepping onto the elevator, Kwangsoo pushed the button for the top floor and watched as the doors closed. The elevator immediately began to rise. He waited until the doors opened once again and stepped into the hall. The young man headed directly for his foster father-in-law's office. He stopped just short of the door. There was one thing he had not considered. What if Ironside was in his office? No amount of talking on his part would lure Chong out of there. Ironside would never allow it. If he was in, he would make an excuse to see Chong and try later.

Kwangsoo walked up the ramp to Ironside's office and opened the door. As he entered, Chong was sitting at the main table drinking coffee. When she saw Kwangsoo, a smile appeared on her face. She stood up and began walking towards him. He closed the distance between them and took her into his arms. Holding her for a moment, and easing her back, he kissed her. "I have missed you terribly."

With tears in her eyes, she told him, "I have missed you as well."

Kwangsoo looked around the room. He did not see anyone else in the office. "Where is Chief Ironside?"

"You mean where is Father, don't you," she said, looking at him disapprovingly about calling him Chief Ironside.

"I am sorry, Chong. Of course I meant Father." He did not want to get off on the wrong foot with her after she gave him such a warm greeting.

"His witness was murdered in his jail cell last night. He went downstairs to investigate."

"Murdered? Who was murdered?"

"Brian James. He worked for the shark."

Kwangsoo smiled. "Loan shark, Chong."

"Yes, well that is who he worked for? Did you know him?"

He could not tell her the truth. Of course, he had run-ins with the man since Walker had been trying to collect from him. If he told her that, then she would know he had dealings with him. Well, he really wasn't dealing with him, but she would never believe him and if she wouldn't, neither would Ironside."

She had not taken a good look at him when he came in; she had just been so happy to see him. Now, she notice the bruises on his face and that it was slightly swollen. "What happened to your face?"

Kwangsoo raised his hand to touch his bruises. He had forgotten all about it in his haste to see Chong. He would have to tell her another lie. If he told her the truth, she most certainly would tell Ironside. He did not want the detective involved. "I had dinner last night in Chinatown. I ran into some thugs who tried to steal what little money I had on me. I was able to fight them off, but they did this before I could get away from them."

Chong ran her hand down the side of his face. "I am so sorry, Kwangsoo for the way things have turned out. I want you to know I still love you, and want to work things out."

He smiled down at her. "I love you too, and it is my wish that we work things out as well."

"As soon as Father is able to settle this problem with Walker, I will come home to you and we will have a long talk."

There it was. She did not plan to come home any time soon. He had to change her mind. Embolden by the fact that no one else seemed to be in the office, this was the time to see if he could change her mind with no outside influence. "Please come home now. I will protect you. I know Father is a police officer, but if you are with me you will be just as safe."

"I don't know, Kwangsoo. Father may not like it."

"We will call him later. If he feels we need police protection, than I will gladly welcome it. I just can't spend another night without you," he pleaded.

"But, Father thinks I am safer here," she protested.

"Safer here?" he said quietly. "A man was just murdered in a building full of police officers." He almost said with Ironside in the building, but he caught himself before it came out of his mouth.

"Maybe you are right. I do miss you. Father has done everything to make me comfortable. It is just not the same as being with you."

Kwangsoo smiled. She was weakening. "Good. We will contact him as soon as we get home. He should be back by then."

"I must leave him a note," Chong insisted.

"Of course," he agreed. While she found a pen and paper, Kwangsoo looked at his watch. He had to get her out of there before Ironside came back, or the man would never allow her to leave.

Chong wrote something on the paper and left it in the middle of the table. She smiled up at him and said, "Let us go home, my husband."

Kwangsoo took her hand and led her out of Ironside's office.

4

Wheeling into the jail, Ironside looked for Sergeant Stroman. At the duty desk sat Officer Fitzpatrick. The detective watched as the officer stood up when he came in. He appreciated the respect officers quite often showed him, but he was not the President of the United States. It was not necessary for them to stand upon his arrival in a room.

"Hello, Chief. It is nice to see you. I just wish it was under better circumstances," Fitzpatrick said. "You can go right back, sir. The sergeant would not allow them to remove the body until you arrived."

Ironside looked up at Fran and nodded. She pushed his chair into the jail, although it was not necessary as the chief was turning the wheels himself. The aisle was wide enough for Ironside to get his chair down to the cell. As he arrived, officers and lab employees parted to allow him access into the cell. The chief went directly to Brian James's body. Checking the wound, he could tell the murderer had used a rather large knife from the length and apparent depth of the wound. "No one got in here besides the man who served him dinner?"

"No, Chief, no one else," Sergeant Stroman said.

"What's the man's name?"

"Kent Owens. We called the kitchen. The have a rather large butcher knife missing from the rack. It is probably what he used to kill James with."

"How did he get a rather large butcher knife into this cell?" Ironside's tone was full of sarcasm.

Stroman turned red. He knew Ironside would ask the question. That was bad enough. What was worse, he had no answer for him. "I don't know, Chief. The only thing I can figure is he concealed it in his sleeve. He was wearing a rather baggy shirt."

"And neither of you went back there with him when he delivered the food?" Ironside demanded.

"No, sir, we did not." Stroman was embarrassed. This was the last man in the department an officer wanted to look incompetent in front of.

"What about Owens? How long has he been on the job?"

"He just started a while ago. He has always been on time and served the prisoners with no problems. He was a polite kid, but he didn't talk much."

"Why are you talking about him in the past tense?" One of the officers asked.

"Because the man was more than likely murdered as soon as he left here," Ironside told him. "Whoever did this could not take the chance we would find him, and he would talk. Norm's use of the past tense is appropriate."

"I am sorry, Chief," Stroman said.

Ironside waved him off. "What about the murder weapon?"

"He must have taken it with him, but we are pretty sure he used a butcher knife from the kitchen," the sergeant said.

"Was there another butcher knife like it in the kitchen?" Ironside asked.

"Yes, they have a set of three exactly alike," Stroman answered.

"Pick up one of them and have it checked against the wound on James," Ironside ordered."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's go, Fran. There is nothing else we can do here. Put an APB out on Kent Owens, not that it will do any good." Ironside told Sergeant Stroman. He backed out of the cell and headed for the main gate. "Walker has decided to play hard ball," he said to his detective.

Fran walked along side of him. "You think he is responsible for Brian James's death?"

The chief stopped his chair and looked up at her. "Don't you?"

"I think Kent Owens killed him," she said.

"He was only the instrument Donnie Walker used. Walker is responsible alright. He has now added murder to loan sharking."

"We have to prove it, Chief," Fran reminded him.

"And we will. Let's get back up stairs. I don't want to leave Chong alone any longer. Sooner or later, Walker is going to come after her and this time he will be ready for us."

5

Kwangsoo and Chong walked up the stairs at the back of their apartment, arm in arm. For the first time in a long time, Kwangsoo was beginning to think they really could straighten their marriage out. Chong had told him that she loved him and that was all that mattered. Still, there was much to discuss. He had to convince Chong not to allow her foster father to interfere between them any longer.

They had been so happy in the beginning. Little by little that happiness had eroded because of Ironside. He did not understand in the least the customs of their country. If he did, he would not continually butt into their affairs. Somehow, he just had to make Chong understand. Otherwise their marriage was doomed to failure. He could not let that happened as he had never loved anyone as much as he loved her.

Kwangsoo put the key into the key hole and unlocked the door. Smiling down at Chong, he said, "Why don't we run a bath and relax in the warm water. We need to talk and removed the tension between us."

"I could not agree more," she said as he bent down and kissed her.

"Maybe we could make love as well. I miss that closeness."

"Me too."

Kwangsoo pushed the door open and the couple entered their dark apartment. As he reached for the light, he was hit on the back of the head. Kwangsoo Yung fell to the floor unconscious.

The lights turned on. When Chong saw her husband laying on the floor, she bent down over him. "Kwangsoo!"

"He's alright lady, at least for now. He won't be if you don't cooperate," Billy Morton said.

Chong turned to see two men standing their grinning at her. "What do you want?"

"You," Dave Fryman said. "Our boss is pretty upset with your foster father. He has interfered with his business. So now he plans to make him pay."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You, little lady. Ironside is going to back off, and you are the reason he is going to do it. We have been watching Police Headquarters; waiting for you to come out. You are coming with us."

"I am not going anywhere with you," Chong said.

When Fryman reached for her, she caught him off guard and kicked him in the groin. Fryman dropped to his knees holding his crotch.

Billy Morton pulled his gun out of the holster under his jacket and pointed it at Chong. "You try anything else and we'll send your dead body back to Ironside. Cooperate and you just might come out of this alive."

Dave Fryman slowly got off the floor. He walked over to Chong and hit her in the face with the butt of the gun. She fell to the floor. He pulled his gun out and pointed it at her.

"Dave! Donnie wants her alive," Billy shouted.

"Bitch! You're lucky, because if I had my way, you'd be dead right now."

"We need to get out of here before lover boy wakes up," Billy said. "Grab the girl and lets go."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Dave said.

"Oh yeah." He pulled a knife out of his jacket. Grabbing Chong by the hair, he took the knife and sliced her arm. It immediately began bleeding profusely.

Fryman grabbed her arm and held it over the rug in the middle of the room. Blood began dripping all over it. As he held Chong over the rug, Billy started knocking lights off the tables. He picked up a vase and threw it up against the wall, shattering it into pieces. With the gloves he was wearing, he put his hand into the blood on the floor, walked over to Kwangsoo, who was still laying on the floor unconscious. He grabbed his hand and smeared Chong's blood on it and picked up his pant leg smearing blood on his sock and then on his shirt. He threw the knife on the floor. Lastly he pick the folder from where he had set it on the coffee table, ripped it in half and threw it into the air; papers scattering everywhere.

"That should just about do it. You take the girl, I'll get Yung." Billy pulled out a needle and a syringe, injected the needle into Kwangsoo's arm. He picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder while Dave grabbed Chong. He wrapped her arm as tightly as he could to stop the bleeding and forced her out of the apartment.

"We will dump Yung along the way.


	12. Chapter 12

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 12

1

An hour after he arrived at the jail, Ironside was satisfied he had checked everything he could there. "Let's go Fran."

Fran Belding stepped behind her boss's chair and the two of them headed out of the jail. They did not get very far when Fran's cellphone rang. She stopped and pulled the phone from her purse. Looking at the phone number that appeared on the screen, it was Ed Brown.

"Hi, Ed, she greeted the sergeant.

"Fran, is the chief with you?"

"Yes, he is."

"Let me talk to him," Brown said.

"Just a minute." Fran held out her cellphone to the detective. "Ed wants to talk to you."

Ironside took her cellphone and brought it to his ear. "Yes, Ed."

"Chief, we located Kent Owens," Sergeant Brown told him.

"Don't tell me. He's dead," Ironside surmised.

"That's right Chief. He was found floating in the Bay by the Coast Guard. He had been shot in the head."

"Probably just as soon as he left police headquarters. Okay, Ed. Get over to his house and see if you can find anything," Ironside ordered.

"Right away," Brown said and ended the conversation.

"Kent Owens is dead," Fran said, judging by Ironside's side of the conversation.

"Naturally. I suspected Donnie Walker would have had him killed immediately. Anyone who knows anything about his organization, knows that those that aren't completely loyal to him will be killed as soon as they complete the job he has them do. Owens was a nobody. Walker would not take any chances with him. He would lure him in with the offer of a lot of money he knew he would never have to pay; then kill him when the job was done. Why these small-time hoods would even work for him is a mystery.

"Money, Chief."

Ironside looked back at her, knowing she was right, but unwilling to concede. "You can't spend it if you're dead, Officer Belding. "Let's get back upstairs."

The chief, followed by his policewoman, headed for the elevator. When they arrived, Fran pushed the button to bring it to the floor they were on. "You really don't expect Ed to find anything at Kent Owens' place, do you?"

"It's a turkey shoot, Fran. Donnie Walker is rather clever. He would not have sent the offer on paper. No, he probably either had one of his men deliver it or he called Owens on the phone"

"With a throw away cellphone," Fran added.

"No doubt," Ironside replied, "but check Owens' phone anyway."

Fran nodded. The elevator opened and they road it to the top floor of the building where Ironside's office was located.

The chief opened his office door and wheeled in. Something was wrong. "Chong!"

2

Sergeant Ed Brown arrived at the apartment of Kent Owens. He got out of his car and headed inside the building. With a search warrant in hand, he went directly to the office. A short, chubby man with long gray hair, a mustache and beard, was sitting with his feet propped up on the desk reading the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Excuse me," Ed said.

The man turned away from his paper long enough to glance at the detective. Looking away from him as quickly as he had turned his head, he said, "We are full up, buster. We don't have any open apartments."

"I am not here to rent an apartment," the sergeant informed him. "I am here to see Kent Owens' apartment."

"Then go knock on his door. If he knows you, he will let you in."

"The man is dead...murdered," Ed said.

"Then he can't let you in, now can he?" The apartment manager didn't bother to take his eyes off his paper. "Do you always visit dead guys?"

Sergeant Brown was losing his patience. As an officer, he always tried to be polite to those he had to deal with. Sometimes, they just made it impossible. He pulled the warrant out of his pocket along with his badge. "Sergeant Brown, San Francisco Police. I have a warrant. Now, I suggest you put that paper down and get a key to the apartment. Now!" he added.

The man shook his head. "Cops, they are never around when you need one. All you guys do is harass innocent citizens. You sure as hell don't protect us. Your dead guy in the apartment is proof of that."

Ed had no tolerance for cop hatred. He had a job to do and he wanted to get to it. "Just get the key and show me to Owens' apartment."

The clerk grabbed the master key, which would open any door in the building. "Come on cop, let's get this over with. I have a lot of work to do."

Ed could not resist since the man had been uncooperative from the minute he walked in. "Yes, I can see you were just buried in work when I came in. You must work on the side for the San Francisco Chronicle."

He gave Ed a dirty look, but said nothing further. Brown followed him down the hall. When they had gone halfway, he stopped in front of apartment 135 and put the key in the lock. After turning it over, he opened the door. "Since the guy is dead, I expect the police to get his stuff out so I can rent the apartment back out. I have a list of people that want to move in here."

"I bet you do," Ed said. He went inside and shut the door in the manager's face. "I bet he would not have been such a smart-alec if the chief had been with me," he said aloud to himself.

Ed surveyed the living room he had just walked into when he entered the door. It was actually quite nice. Quite plush in fact. The room was spotless as well. Sergeant Brown did a quick walk-through before he began to search. The entire apartment was just as neat and clean as the living room had been. He could tell the carpeting was expensive and the cupboards in the kitchen were made of carved oak with a design on every door. The handles did not come from a hardware store. Ed knew they were custom-made. Everything in the apartment was expensive, right down to the vases, paintings and nick-nacks that were sitting on the tables and shelves.

Where did he get this kind of money? He had been working for the kitchen at the jail. Ed figured he was paid minimum wage at best. There was no way he could have purchased these things on what he was earning. Besides, he had not been on the job that long in the first place.

Sergeant Brown searched the apartment thoroughly, but did not find anything that would help them tie Kent Owens to Donnie Walker. The loan shark was certainly a clever crook. No effort they had made so far had brought them any closer to nailing Walker. The sergeant traced his steps through the apartment one more time and then gave up.

He returned to the front office where he again found the clerk with his feet up on his desk, reading the paper. Ed dropped the key on the counter. "I can see you are busy," he said sarcastically, "but, I am going to have to insist that apartment not be entered or anything in it be touched until we are finished with it."

Pulling his feet off the desk, the clerk stood up. "I want it cleared out so I can rent it out. The owner will get pretty upset if he is not making any money off that apartment."

"Just refer him to Chief Ironside. Don't enter that apartment and don't allow anyone else to. Is that clear?" Ed said with authority.

"It's clear," the clerk said, snatching the key from the counter. He gave Ed a look of disapproval and went back to his desk.

"Don't work too hard," Ed said on his way out.

3

"Chong!" Ironside shouted again. There wasn't any response. "Fran, check her bedroom."

Fran left immediately and headed for the room Chong had been staying in. When she found it empty, she returned to the main room. "She isn't in her room, Chief." She noticed he was sitting at the table with a paper in his hand. "What is that?"

"A note from Chong. Kwangsoo showed up here and convinced her to return home," the chief said.

"Chief, she could be in danger if Donnie Walker finds out," Fran said.

"I am aware of that." Ironside picked up the phone and called Sergeant Brown. "Ed, Chong went back home with Kwangsoo. Get over there right now!"

"On my way, Chief," Brown said. He put the siren up on the top of his Ford and pressed the button as the sound blared from the speaker.

The door to the office opened and Mark Sanger walked in. The chief wheeled towards him. "Don't get comfortable, Mister Sanger, you're driving."

Mark turned around and headed for the door. Opening it, he held it open for Chief Ironside and Officer Belding.

4

Officer Duffy arrived on skid row. He got out of his patrol car, walked past the other vehicles and headed across the street. When he arrived, he asked the officer in charge, "What do we have?"

The officer turned to see Duffy standing there. Under normal circumstances, he would not have allowed another cop to interfere with his arrest, but everyone knew Duffy was a favorite of the chief, and no one wanted to deal with an irate Ironside. "One of the other bums called the police when they spotted this guy. He has blood all over him, though he doesn't seem to be bleeding from anywhere. The guy is obviously strung out on something. He can't answer our questions; he isn't even coherent. I ran a check, Duffy. He doesn't have a record, never even had a parking ticket."

"Can he tell you his name?" Duffy asked. He looked down at the man laying on the cement. His face was turned away from the officers.

"No, and he has no identification on him either."

"What about the other guys here? Do any of them know who he is?"

"Nope, none of the bums have seen him before."

"None of the men, you mean don't you? These guys are down on their luck. If you were in there place, you would not appreciate being called a bum," Duffy said.

The officer turned from Duffy and rolled his eyes. If half of them would clean up and find a job, he would have the respect for them Duffy was demanding. "Have it your way," he said.

Duffy walked over to the man and turned him over. Shocked at what he saw, he looked back at the officer. "Don't you know who this man is?"

"No, just another bum on skid row. I mean just another guy," he corrected.

"I'll take it from here," Duffy said.

The officer just stood there and stared at him. "Why are you bothering yourself with this guy? I can handle this."

"I said I would take it from here, or would you prefer to deal with Chief Ironside?" Duffy hated throwing the chief's name around as he knew a lot of the officers were envious of the way the chief called for him when he needed a uniformed cop. However, this time he didn't care if this officer got upset. He needed to keep this quiet until Ironside decided how he wanted to handle it.

The officer nodded. "Alright, you handle it." He turned and walked away wondering what connection this skid row bum had to Chief Ironside.

Duffy dismissed the rest of the officers and walked back to his patrol car. He made a call to Ironside's office. When he got the voice mail, he hung up. Dialing Carl Reese's number, he waited for an answer.

"Lieutenant Reese," the Italian cop said.

"Lieutenant, this is Officer Duffy. I am on skid row. I just sent the officers away that were called to the scene."

"A murder?" Reese asked.

"No," Duffy answered.

"Then why are you calling me?"

"There is a man here covered in blood with no obvious wounds and strung out on some kind of drug."

Lieutenant Reese's irritated voice came back at him. "So, again, why call me?"

"Carl, the man is Kwangsoo Yung, the chief's son-in-law."

Without hesitation, Carl responded. "I am on my way." He got Duffy's location and headed out of his office.

5

Mark pulled the van to a stop in the alley behind Chong's and Kwangsoo's apartment. Already parked in the alley were two patrol cars and Ed's Ford. A moment later, another vehicle was passed by the police and Robert Duvalier got out of the car. He noticed immediately his father's van was parked as he was being lowered to the ground by the lift. Robert headed directly over to Ironside.

"What is going on? I got the call to come directly here," Robert asked his father.

"Kwangsoo convinced Chong to leave my office with him while I was out," the chief told his son.

Robert took one look at the steep stairs that led up to his sister's apartment and took off on a dead run. He went up the stairs, skipping every other one, not waiting for instructions from his father. When he got inside, Ed Brown was obviously in charge. Robert looked down at the blood stain on the carpet. The room was in shambles.

When Ed noticed Robert, he headed over to him. "Chong is not here and neither is Kwangsoo. Has the chief arrived yet?"

"He's outside, but unless some of the cops carry him up those stairs, he can't get up here on his own."

"It is not necessary for him to come up. He has us. Take a look around and see if you can see anything I missed. I am going to go down and talk to the chief, before he sends Mark or Fran up after me." Just as he said it, Fran walked into the apartment.

When she saw the condition of the apartment and the blood on the rug, she looked up at Ed. He knew exactly what she was thinking. Ed walked up to her and answered the question he knew was on her mind. "Neither of them is here. I am going to go down and talk to the chief.

Fran noticed the folder Ed was holding in his hand. "What's that?"

"Something that might shed a light on what went on in here." Brown said nothing else. He headed out of the apartment and down the stairs. After spotting Mark and the chief, he walked over to them.

"Is Chong here?" Ironside asked anxiously.

"No, and neither is Kwangsoo. Chief, there was some kind of struggle up there. The place is a shambles and there is blood on the rug. I found this." Brown handed Ironside the folder. Ed could see the immediate worry on his boss's face.

The detective opened it and glanced down the first page and then the second one. He looked up at Ed and shook his head.

"It looks like Kwangsoo has not been honest with you or Chong. According to that, he has been borrowing money from Donnie Walker and placing bets with a bookie on horse racing."

Ironside looked it over before speaking again. "If it was in the apartment, Chong must now know about it."

Ironside's cellphone rang inside his pocket. He put up his hand to interrupt his sergeant. "Ironside...yes, Carl."

As he listened, Ed could see the corners of his jaw tighten. After a few minutes of listening to the lieutenant, he said, "Carl, take him to the hospital and put a police guard on him. Once they have pronounced him not in any medical danger, hold him as a material witness." He hung up the phone and turned back to Ed.

"Kwangsoo was just found on skid row. He is covered with blood and under the influence of a drug," Ironside told him.

Fran and Robert came out of the apartment building. They approached the detectives. "Chief, Robert and I have talked to the neighbors. Most of them heard a struggle in Chong Kwangsoo's apartment. Apparently, they were quite loud."

"Did they hear or see anyone else?" Ironside demanded.

"No, Chief. Robert and I covered all the apartments. Either they said they didn't hear or see anything, or they refused to get involved."

"Huh," Ironside grunted. "I bet they would want others to get involved if they were the victim." It angered him some of them would not talk to his officers, especially since Chong was involved. "You know what this looks like don't you?"

"Like Chong found out about his gambling; they had a fight over it and he lost control and attacked her," Ed said.

"That is assuming a lot, Ed," Fran told him. "The neighbors did not even see Kwangsoo. They only heard Chong arguing with a man. We do not know it was Kwangsoo."

"No, we don't," Robert agreed, "however, we know she left my father's office with him."

"We also know Kwangsoo was still involved in gambling and owed money to Donnie Walker," Ironside said. However, something bothered him about that. He handed the file to Fran. She read it with Robert looking over her shoulder.

Ironside told them what had transpired with his call from Carl Reese. When he finished, Ed said, "There is something else you need to know. I searched Kent Owens' apartment. Everything in his place was extremely expensive right down to the nick-nacks. There is no way he could afford the stuff in that apartment on minimum wage. He had to have another source of income."

"Donnie Walker?" Robert asked.

"That would be my guess," Ironside said, "but we will check it out. Right now, finding Chong is the priority. Robert, what about the money trail?"

"Nothing so far. I have not been able to find out where Walker is keeping his money, at least not the illegal money," Robert answered.

"Ed, what was in that box you picked up from Brian James' sister's place?" the chief asked his sergeant.

Brown looked confused. "I thought you knew."

"Knew what?" Ironside questioned.

"The district attorney said he was having it picked up himself. He told me not to bother," Ed said.

"Since when do you take orders from Paul Mantee?" Ironside growled.

"He's the one that has to bring it to trial, Chief," Ed said.

"And we are the ones that provide the evidence to do just that. Find out what was in that box," Ironside ordered. Ed nodded and left the group on the run.

"Robert, while Ed is doing that, check out Kent Owens. Find out where his money was coming from. There has to be a connection to Donnie Walker." Robert nodded and headed for his car.

Ironside sat there thinking for a moment. Something about this did not add up. Was Kwangsoo responsible for this, or had Donnie Walker just raised the stakes?

"Come on, Fran. We are going to pay a visit to my son-in-law. He better have a very good explanation for the blood in their apartment or I am going to hold him on suspicion of murder."

Fran followed her boss. He was a picture of a perfect poker face, but she could only imagine what was going through his mind. His foster daughter was missing. Her apartment in shambles, blood on the carpet and his son-in-law was found covered in blood after the discovery of his continual borrowing of money from a loan shark, which apparently he was spending on betting on horse races.


	13. Chapter 13

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 13

1

Chief Robert Ironside wheeled his chair into the jail. Officer Charlie Fitzpatrick was the officer on duty. "Hi Charlie," the chief said as he approached.

"Hi Chief. Are you here to see someone? No one told me you were coming in," Charlie said.

"The boys brought in a John Doe, an oriental man. I would like to talk to him."

Charlie knew something was up with that particular prisoner. He was not allowed to handle anything to do with him. Lieutenant Carl Reese took charge. He booked him as a John Doe, but Charlie had seen the man around Police Headquarters before. In fact, he was certain he had some connection to Chief Ironside. He would not ask though. The chief did not like officers sticking their noses in things he considered none of their business. He had no doubt he considered this none of his business.

Fitzpatrick reached for the key to the main jail and opened it. Ironside was accompanied by Officer Fran Belding. The two detectives from the special crime unit waited for Charlie to bring the prisoner out. Charlie approached Kwangsoo's cell and unlocked the gate. "Chief Ironside wants to talk to you."

Ironside's son-in-law stepped out of the jail cell and headed down the aisle towards the gate. He could see Robert Ironside on the other side waiting for him.

As he stepped out of the jail, Ironside and Belding met him. "Kwangsoo," the chief greeted his son-in-law.

Kwangsoo could not bring himself to look at his wife's father. That was exactly how he thought of Robert Ironside. He never thought of him as his father. From the time he met the man, he had come to resent the influence he had on Chong. He could not understand how she could throw away all of their country's traditions? Yet, that is exactly what she had done, but right now none of that mattered. Chong's life was surely in danger. She had to be found before something happened to her.

"You must help Chong, Chief Ironside!" he told him excitedly, almost hysterically.

Ironside looked at the state the young man was in and simply said, "Follow me." He turned his chair away from Kwangsoo and headed down the hall to an interrogation room. Officer Belding waited for him to follow the chief. Hesitating only for a moment, Kwangsoo followed his father-in-law. Belding brought up the rear.

Ironside led them to a pre-arranged room. Reaching forward, he turned the knob and pushed the door open. Grabbing both sides of the door frame, the detective pulled his chair into the room. "Sit down," he instructed Chong's husband.

Kwangsoo could not understand how the detective could remain so calm when Chong's life was so obviously in danger. Ironside's lack of emotion was living proof he did not really care about her. Otherwise, he would be out there looking for her instead of here, holding her husband prisoner. "You have to find her now!" he shouted at the former chief of detectives.

His pleas did not seem to faze Ironside in the least. He sat there across the table from him staring directly into his eyes. Kwangsoo could not handle the scrutiny. He dropped his eyes from Ironside. "You don't care about Chong. That is why you are not looking for her," he told the detective.

"I care very much about her. I can't begin to look until I know what happened. Why did you remove Chong from the protection of my office?" Ironside asked the young man.

"She belongs with me, not you. I am her husband. You are just..." He did not finish.

"Just her foster father? Is that what you were going to say?" Ironside demanded. "I am also a police officer, Kwangsoo, with an entire police department at my disposal. Can you forget your animosity of me for a few minutes and tell me what happened. Time could be of the essence."

Kwangsoo found the courage to face his father-in-law. "I told you. She belongs with me. I missed her, so I went to your office to convince her to come home with me. She was the only one in the office. I don't see how you can call that protection. I had no problem going up to your office." He looked away from Ironside again.

"She was in a building full of cops, and the reason you were passed to go up to my office is because you are my son-in-law. When all of us are out, no one is allowed to go up to my office. In order to go up the back way, one must have the code to enter the elevator that allows entrance to my floor." Ironside continued to stare at him making him very uncomfortable.

"You still left her alone," Kwangsoo said. "She was better off with me."

"She was not kidnapped from my office, was she?" Ironside said. Kwangsoo looked away from him as he continued. "Did you take her straight home?"

"Yes."

"What happened?" the chief asked.

"I don't know what happened," he told him. "As soon as we entered the apartment, I was hit on the back of the head. I don't remember anything after that."

Ironside looked over at Fran and nodded. She understood what he wanted immediately. Walking around the table, she approached Kwangsoo. She checked the back of his head. "The skin is broken on the back of his head, Chief. There is dry blood there."

Kwangsoo looked back at his father-in-law. "What, you do not believe me? Is that why you are checking?"

The chief was not about to get into an argument with Kwangsoo whether he believed him or not. It was not his job to decide whether he believed him. It was his job to gather the facts. If the facts led to evidence he was involved, then he would be charge with her murder if she was found dead. He hoped to God that was not the case, but he would investigate the same way he did any other case. The fact the young man was married to his foster daughter would make no difference.

However, the wound on the back of his head seem to corroborate what he was telling the detective. "Kwangsoo, just answer my questions."

Fran bent down and whispered in Ironsides ear. "Chief, if you suspect him of kidnapping or killing Chong, shouldn't you advise him he as a right to an attorney?"

Ironside whispered back. "Right now, I am treating him as a material witness."

"I would appreciate it, Chief Ironside, if the two of you told me what is going on. Do you or do you not suspect me of having something to do with Chong's disappearance?"

"Kwangsoo, do you want to find Chong or not?" Ironside said raising his voice.

"Of course I do. Why would you even ask that?"

"Because you are becoming so defensive, and we are getting no where with this," Ironside growled. "We found blood on the carpeting in your living room. How did it get there and whose blood is it?"

"How would I know? I told you I was knocked out the second I entered the apartment," he said, clearly upset with the question.

"And the blood on your clothes?" Ironside asked.

"I don't know that either," he said, his voice rising.

"There was a struggle in the room. Were you part of it?" Fran asked.

"I told you I was knocked out. How many times do I have to tell you?" he shouted.

"Can you explain the blood on your clothes?" Ironside asked.

"No. It was all over me when I woke up. Look, Chief Ironside, I am worried about Chong. You should be looking for her instead of asking me these questions! Now, when am I getting out of here?" Kwangsoo demanded.

"You aren't," Ironside said, "at least not until we have found out what happened to Chong. I am afraid I am going to have to hold you on suspicion of murder," the chief told him.

"Murder! You must be insane! I could not hurt her. You need to find her!" Kwangsoo stood up and was yelling at the detective. "You think I would harm her? I told you, she and I were going to talk things out!"

Fran stepped in front of the detective to his left ready to intervene if Kwangsoo Yung made any attempt to attack the chief. However, he did not. He stood behind the table with tears in his eyes and anguish on his face. Ironside studied him. There was certainly enough evidence Chong and Kwangsoo were having problems in their marriage, but would the young man attack or kill her? Ironside didn't think so, but he certainly was not going to allow him to be released with the evidence they had. He pulled out the information that had been found in their apartment. Tossing it in front of Kwangsoo, he demanded, "Explain that. You said you were not borrowing money from loan sharks. That says otherwise. In fact, according to that, you have also been betting on the horses." Ironside continued to watch his son-in-law very closely for any signs of lying.

Yung picked up the paperwork and began reading through it. As he did, his eyes widen and his expression deepen. "This is all lies. I have not been borrowing money from anyone, and I would have no idea how to bet on horses. I am being set up," Kwangsoo said.

"By whom?" Officer Belding asked. "Who would want to set you up for murder."

Just as he was about to blame Donnie Walker, Kwangsoo thought of Chong. She was out there somewhere...if she was still alive. No doubt in is mind she was being held by Walker's thugs. He also remembered the threat Walker had made against her if he went to Ironside. How could he blame the detective for thinking he was responsible, everything was pointing at him. He knew that, and so did Robert Ironside. If only he could tell him what he really knew, but he couldn't. Walker would kill Chong, of that he was certain. He could not let that happen. Somehow, he had to get a message to Walker. He had to let him know he was not going to talk. He would keep his mouth shut to protect Chong. There was no other way. His father-in-law was considered the best there was at what he did. He would have to depend on him to find Chong without his help.

"I don't know who set me up," Kwangsoo said, looking away from the glaring blue stare of Robert Ironside.

The chief had seen the desire in Kwangsoo's eyes to tell him something, but then he backed off. Had Walker threatened Chong if he talked to him? How could he get him to understand, the best thing he could do for Chong was to tell him everything. His son-in-law was holding out. Ironside knew that. He had to get him to talk to him. He decided to take another avenue.

"Alright, someone is trying to frame you. There has to be something that you remember that would lead us to that person. Kwangsoo, I want to help you and Chong. Since we have met, you have fought me every step of the way. I know you love Chong and I have no doubt she loves you. You are in America now. If you don't learn to embrace some of our customs, you are going to destroy your marriage. Why come here in the first place if you prefer to live entirely by your home country's customs?

"I know you are a proud man and want to make it on your own. I respect that. I made you an offer, to borrow the money for school from me and to pay it back with interest. That way you would not have to use a loan shark and you would not be taking a handout from me either. Look, if you took money from Walker..."

"But I didn't! I told you that. You still don't believe me, and I am supposed to trust you?" he shouted. "I did not borrow any money from anyone, and I did not bet on any horses! I told you I have been set up! Why can't you trust me? Please, I don't care about me. Find Chong, find her before it is too late." The tears weld up in his eyes as he met the intense glare from Robert Ironside.

The chief was not going to get any information out of Kwangsoo Yung. He was scared. The question was--was he scared because he had killed Chong, or was he scared of talking to him because Walker threaten Chong's life. Ironside believed it was the latter, but he would not just go on that assumption. He would find out and when he did, if Walker was the person responsible, he was going down. Nothing was going to stop him from getting the evidence to put the crook behind bars. He made a grave error coming to his city, and an even bigger one attacking his family.

"Alright, Kwangsoo. I am going to go find Chong. I am sorry, but you will have to stay here for now. I will be in touch." Ironside backed up his chair, turned around and headed for the door.

"Father," Kwangsoo said behind him.

At the sound of being called Father, Ironside abruptly turned his chair back to face his son-in-law. It was the first time he had ever called him that. "Yes."

"Find her, please." The tears rolled down his cheek.

He could not think of anything to say to him, so he simply nodded his head, turned his chair around one more time and wheeled out of the interrogation room.

When they arrived on the other side, Fran Belding closed the door and checked to make sure the lock was in place. "What do you think?" she asked the boss.

"What do you think?" Ironside looked up at her and waited for her to answer.

"Either he is telling the truth and doesn't know anything about her disappearance, or he killed her and has missed his calling as an actor," Belding surmised.

"But which is it?" questioned the detective.

"I don't know, Chief. He seems sincere and genuinely concerned about her. He was quite convincing."

Ironside said nothing for a moment before replying, "That's what bothers me. I do believe he loves Chong. However, was he set up or did he kill her in a fit of anger. He could be playing me, Fran. Either way, this is Friday, so we have seventy-two hours before we either charge him or turn him loose."

"Then we better find out which it is," Belding said.

"That is a reasonable bit of deductive reasoning," Ironside told her with a smile.

He wheeled over to Officer Charlie Fitzpatrick. "No one is to enter John Doe's cell for any reason. I will be sending one of my staff to take him his meals. I don't want him being murdered in his cell."

"Yes, Chief. He must be pretty important since no one will tell us who he really is," Charlie said.

"You let me worry about that. It is not up for office discussion. Is that clear," he said with such forcefulness, Charlie backed away from him.

"It's clear, Chief," he told the wheelchair-bound detective. He watched as Ironside and Belding left the jail. Picking up the keys, he headed for the interrogation room to return John Doe to his cell. He could not help but feel Ironside was hiding something. It didn't really matter if he was. There was no way Charlie would stick his nose into it. Bucking Ironside was a good way to get kicked out of the department.

2

Robert Duvalier headed for Kent Owens' apartment. This time he did not forget anything. He had warrants for his bank accounts, safety deposit boxes and any securities he may have, as well as for his phone records. He was not about to face his father again having forgotten important pieces of information. Robert was well aware if he had included Donnie Walker's safety deposit box, they may well already have the information they needed to arrest him. There had to be a connection between Kent Owens and Donnie Walker in order to prove Walker had him killed.

Robert wanted to find a money connection between the two men. It would not prove he was responsible for James' murder. It could be the start of finding out exactly what role he did play, if any. Like his father, he did believe Donnie Walker was responsible for killing Brian James, but his father would remind him...knowing it and proving it are two entirely different things.

Robert pulled up in front of the apartment of Kent Owens. Across the front door was the familiar yellow plastic ribbon marked with "Crime Scene." It wasn't really a crime scene since Owens was not killed there; the police wanted to be sure to keep people away from his apartment. Robert felt it was simply advertising for low-life individuals to try and break in. He wondered if his father knew the police had placed the tape over the door.

With the key to the apartment in hand, Robert walked up to the door, reached under the yellow plastic tape and put the key in the lock. Turning it to the left, he released the deadbolt lock and opened the door.

He thought about what he expected to find since the police had already been here and gone through the place. So what would he find that they didn't? He was not completely sure. His father wanted him to find a money connection between James and Walker. The question was whether there was one to begin with.

Robert entered the living room upon entrance. It was a modest apartment. Nothing he could see right off indicated he was living like someone with a lot of money. This was not going to be easy. Maybe he wasn't paid much of anything by Walker. He noticed a room off the living room. Through the door, he could spot a desk. Robert headed for that room. It was as good a place as any to start. As he entered the room, the young Canadian stood there. He knew the San Francisco Police were thorough. If they weren't his father would have a lot to say about who was promoted and who wasn't. Therefore, he had to think, as they say, "outside the box." Where could he look that the police would not think of looking.

As he contemplated what he would do next, Robert thought of his father. He had not known him long, but for the length of time that he had, he realized what an outstanding detective he was. When he decided to become a detective, it was always in the back of his mind what a difficult example he had to follow. He may never be as good as his father, probably wouldn't, but he sure as hell could be nearly as good. After all, he had Robert Ironside's blood running through his veins.

Robert walk straight over to the desk. If it had any hidden compartments, he could find them. But, wouldn't the police already have found them? Probably, but he would not leave anything to chance. He was going to go over every inch of this room. First he opened every drawer and went through every piece of paper in each one of them. Then he pulled the drawers completely out to make sure nothing was stuck or taped behind them. There wasn't.

Next, Robert moved the desk away from the wall. There wasn't anything behind it either, nothing taped to the back of the desk. Leaving the desk pulled from the wall, Robert began checking the rest of the room. He looked behind every picture on the walls, examined those pictures to make sure nothing was hidden within them or between the frame and the pictures themselves. When he located nothing, he moved on.

Robert checked under the throw-rugs and checked the bottom of them. Again he found nothing. He checked every piece of furniture to make sure nothing was attached anywhere on them.

The phone inside his pocket rang. Duvalier stopped long enough to remove it and greet his caller. "Hello."

"Detective Duvalier?" the voice questioned.

"Yes, this is he," Robert answered.

"We have the bank records for Kent Owens. I am sending them to the email address you gave," the officer said.

"Thank you," the young detective replied. He waited and watched his email application on his phone until it arrived. "Got it," he told the officer, "and thank you." Robert hung up the phone and began studying the banking records. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary in the records that he could see. The account was in Owens' name and the deposits were modest. He showed a deposit weekly from the Police Department. Calculating it in his mind, Robert estimated police paid Owens a couple dollars above minimum wage. There were no large deposits in or out of the account. He was about to shut off his smartphone when he notice there was another record attached to the email. He opened it. This account was in the name of Kent Smith. The social security number on the account was that of Kent Owens.

Robert glanced down the bank record. It showed regular deposits to the account, from where, he had no idea since they were just listed as electronic deposits. They had to come from somewhere. When he left here, he would check them out. Duvalier shut down his smartphone and placed it back in his pocket.

He resumed his search of the room for another half-hour. He concluded the police had done a very good job. There was nothing here to be found. Robert walked back over to the desk and prepared to move it back into place. He stopped when he thought he saw something shiny. Glancing down at the floor, he decided he had not seen anything. Maybe it was because he just wanted to find something to help his father and his foster sister. He began shoving the desk back when he again caught something shiny out of the corner of his eye.

Robert stopped and went around the desk. Bending down on one knee, he began to check along the floor. He could not find anything that could possibly shine to catch his attention. He was wasting his time here. He had to move on and find out where those deposits were coming from. Robert stood up. He reached over to turn off the light on the desk. Suddenly he stopped. Could the light be the cause of where ever the shiny object was coming from? He glanced back at it. Robert looked to his right. There was a window there covered with closed drapes. He walked over to it and opened them. Light poured into the room.

Walking back behind the desk, the shiny object he kept seeing out of the corner of his eye was now very visible. Robert again went down on one knee. Between the boards, there appeared to be a piece of metal. He pulled his pocket knife out of his pocket, opened the blade and placed it between the two boards of the hardwood floor. There was definitely a piece of metal there. Ironside's son decided to see if he could pull the metal out of the flooring. He wasn't sure why he was bothering as it was probably just a small piece of metal stuck between the boards, but it had caught his attention and he was not giving up until he was sure that was all it was.

Adjusting his weight closer, his knee rested on the board. He tried to pop the metal up, but it didn't budge. Well, that about did it. It was nothing more than a piece of metal stuck between the boards just as he had suspected. He lifted his knee off the floor. When he did, the board popped upwards. Robert stared at it for a moment and then pulled it from its place. The piece of metal he had been seeing was actually a latch, the kind people put on a cupboard door. It had been cleverly attach to the board to force it up when weight or pressure was placed on the board.

Robert looked into the space beneath. He could not see anything in there. Maybe whatever had been placed inside was removed. Reaching his hand into the opening he could not feel anything directly inside. He moved his hand underneath the board to the right, and still felt nothing. When he did the same to the board on the other side of the opening, his hand was stopped by something. Grabbing hold of it, he pulled it and tipped it in order to remove it from underneath the hardwood boards.

In his hand he held a small notebook. Robert opened it and began reading it. It contain the dates, times and names of people he had collected from for Donnie Walker. Duvalier noticed it also listed sums of money to be placed in bank accounts. It appeared Kent Owens was also collecting for Walker. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and re-opened the second bank account statement with the deposits. Comparing the deposits to those listed in the diary, each one was a total of several of those listed. Apparently, Kent Owens was pocketing money he had been collecting for Donnie Walker. When he added up all the deposits in the bank account and in the diary, they matched right to the penny.

This book tied Walker to loan sharking. They had dates, times as well as names! In other words, they had witnesses! All his father would have to do is authenticate Kent Owens's handwriting. Hopefully, it would be enough to arrest Walker and lead them to Chong's whereabouts.

Robert flipped to the end of the entries. His eyes widen. Kent Owens had written there that Donnie Walker had ordered the kidnapping of Chong Lee Yung and the murder of Brian James! Certainly, his father would be able to act on this.

Placing the notebook diary in his pocket, Robert placed the board back in place. That was when he felt a stinging pain in the back of his head and everything went black.


	14. Chapter 14

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 14

1

The district attorney's office was a busy place. Sergeant Brown enter the lobby of the offices. People were hurrying in every direction. Ed looked around. It was much different than the laid back atmosphere of Chief Ironside's office. Despite the fact that the chief was demanding and sometimes moody, he always tried to make his detectives feel at home. Although the sergeant knew the district attorney's office was extremely well run, it looked more like controlled chaos at the moment.

Brown walked through the lobby and headed for Paul Mantee's office. When he arrived, the district attorney's secretary was on the phone. Ed waited patiently until she finished her conversation and hung up the phone. Looking up at the handsome detective, she's smiled. "Well, hello, Ed. What brings you here?"

Returning the smile, Brown responded, "I know I don't have an appointment, but I would like to see the district attorney. Chief Ironside sent me."

"Just a moment, Sergeant, and I will check to see if he has time to see you." She picked up the phone, press the button for the intercom and spoke into the telephone receiver. "Sergeant Brown is here for Chief Ironside. He would like a few minutes of your time if possible." She listened for a moment and turned to Sergeant Brown. Smiling, she returned her attention to Ed and said, "You may go right in."

"Thanks," Ed said. He walked directly to the door that was marked District Attorney and knocked.

"Come on in, Ed," Paul Mantee shouted from the other side.

Brown opened the door and entered the district attorney's office. Mantee met him as he came in. Putting out his hand, Brown accepted it and smiled. "Hello, Ed. The chief's mood must be bad if you are already out of the office. What can I do for you?"

"The chief wants to know what you picked up at Brian James' sister's house."

"Sister's house?" Mantee seemed confused with Brown's statement.

"Brian James' sister. He was supposed to have placed information there regarding the business dealings of Donnie Walker. You did go to the house, didn't you?" Brown asked.

Mantee was momentarily speechless. When he regained his composure, he said, "Just a minute. We were supposed to go to Brian James' place. We did that. We found the place had been torn apart. Whatever the guy was looking for, he either found it or it was not there to begin with."

"No, Paul. Chief Ironside ordered the sister's place searched."

"That's not right, Ed. He ordered James' place search and the evidence picked up. There wasn't any evidence to be found," Mantee insisted.

Brown was shaking his head. "Paul, that is not where James said the records were. He said they were in his sister's home in Sonoma. I was there. I heard the chief say it. You told me you would handle it."

Mantee didn't say anything for the moment. "I am sorry, Ed. I really thought we were supposed to go to Brian James' place. I will get some guys over to her apartment immediately."

Brown had to control his voice to keep from letting the district attorney know how disgusted he was. Unless, Donnie Walker was an idiot, and he wasn't, there wouldn't be any records there. James' place had been ransacked, there was no doubt in Ed's mind Walker had ordered the same on his sister's once they didn't find anything at his place. Ed would go through the motions, but it looked like their evidence had gone out the window. Maybe it was time the district attorney resign. This screw-up had probably just allowed Walker to slip through their grasps.

"No, Paul, I will go." Ed headed for the door. He was not going to give Mantee a chance to try and overrule him.

"Ed, if you find nothing, I will deny I knew about the sister. I don't remember anything being said about her."

Brown shook his head. "It was said, and you were there. I heard it. Why don't you just admit you forgot about the sister's place?"

"If you try to make this public and put the blame on me, I will deny it," Mantee said again. "It's my word against Ironside's."

"And who do you think the people of San Francisco will believe? You or Chief Ironside, and his staff for that matter. Who do you think the commissioner will believe?" Ed gave him one last look of disgust and left his office. The chief was going to be furious if what Ed thought happened had happened.

2

Gladys Darwin stopped her car in front of the apartment building she managed. Staring at the front door of one apartment, she noticed the police tape had been disturbed. Gladys could not tell from where she was sitting if the door was closed. It could be ajar, yet it did not look like it was. Sitting there in the front seat of her car, she debated whether she should check out the door or just call the police. After all, someone could have broken into the apartment. That police tape as much told the criminal element in the area the apartment was unoccupied and someone had been murdered there. She knew that wasn't true. The man who had rented the apartment had been murdered, but not in the apartment. She could not wait until the police finished with their investigation so she could get it ready to rent to someone else. It bothered her to come to the building, which held three apartments. Just knowing the man that lived there was murdered was creepy enough, yet alone having to worry about the thugs in the area breaking in to help themselves of anything of value they could find inside.

Gladys kept looking at the front door not really knowing why she was just sitting there. She had not come to the building to check on that apartment. She had arrived to collect the rent from one of the other tenants. Gladys just knew that police tape was going to be a problem. She finally opened the car door and got out. She might as well get it over with. After slamming the door shut, she headed up the walk to the brick building and the apartment the police had so clearly marked for thugs. They might as well put up a sign letting them know they could break in.

Gladys walked up the steps and reached for the front doorknob. She decided before she put the key in the lock, she wanted to know if it had been disturbed. It turned easily in her hand. Someone had either jimmied the lock or had a key. Gladys had given a key to the police so they could enter when they needed to until they were finished with their investigation.

The apartment manager looked back at the street. There were no police cars in the area. If they had entered the apartment, surely at least one would be in the road. She didn't like it. Gladys walked back to her car. She was not going in that apartment not knowing how that door got unlocked. She went back to her car, opened the door and reached for her purse. Pulling the zipper back and reaching in, she removed her cellphone. Gladys flipped the phone open. She had the phone for years. Those fancy phones with all the applications and settings were not for her. She had a hard enough time figuring out this plain flip phone. She dial "0" and spoke in to the phone when the operator came on. "Please connect me with the police. I think one of my apartment buildings has been broken into."

3

"Fran, where is that report on the kitchen butcher knife. The lab has had plenty of time to check the wound on Brian James' body." Ironside was getting irritated at the slowness by some in the department. He wanted the information yesterday, as he usually did. This investigation was going entirely too slow for him, and he was worried about Chong. He didn't believe Donnie Walker would keep her alive very long, that is if he hadn't killed her already. So far he did not have a single lead other than the evidence that pointed at his foster son-in-law. Ironside just did not believe Kwangsoo would harm Chong. There was no doubt in his mind the boy loved her, and she him. He had made a stupid mistake taking her from the protection of the police. Yet, Ironside understood. Kwangsoo was having a hard time with Chong's Americanization. The detective found it hard to believe the change in Chong himself, considering the traditions she had made Kwangsoo follow in obtaining his permission for the marriage.

"Carl called a few minutes ago and said he would be up shortly with the report," Fran called from the other room.

"Shortly? What the blazes does that mean?" the detective grumbled. "How long is shortly? Ten minutes, an hour, or a day."

Fran had noticed how moody her boss had been all morning. She couldn't blame him, really. He had to be worried about Chong. He was upset with Kwangsoo for not cooperating. The young man knew something more than he was telling. Why wouldn't he tell the chief? He was the one person who could help both of them.

The door to the office opened, and Lieutenant Carl Reese came down the ramp. "You were right, Chief. The butcher knife that was in the kitchen matched the wound on Brian James. Since they were a matching set and one is missing, there is no doubt the missing knife was the one used to kill him."

"We have to tie his murder to Donnie Walker. I need some leverage on him if we are going to find out where Chong is. Has Robert Called in?"

"No, Chief," Fran said. "We haven't heard from him all morning."

"What about Ed?" Ironside demanded.

"Haven't heard from him either," Fran told him.

"See if you can get Robert on the phone. He was going back to Kent Owen's apartment to look around. Not that I expect he will find anything. Ed does a thorough job of investigating a murder scene. He was suppose to check on Kent Owen's bank accounts. At least I hope he didn't leave them out." He was reminded of Donnie Walker's safety deposit box Robert did not get a warrant for.

Fran smiled. There was no way Robert forgot anything this time. The chief had that effect on you when you forgot something. You never forgot it again, and Chief Ironside didn't have to say a word other than to ask you if you did it. Knowing he knew you did not do your job thoroughly was enough to make you cover all your bases the next time.

The phone began ringing. Fran headed for the one on Ironside's desk. Carl was on his way out of the office. "If you don't need me any further, Chief, I have work to do."

"Go a head, Carl."

"Chief Ironside's office," Fran announced as she picked up the phone. She listened for a moment and then turned to her boss. "Chief, Officer Duffy is on the line. He says it is important."

"All police work is important," Ironside said. He reached over and punched the speaker button. "Yes, Duffy."

"Chief, we got a call from the apartment manager where Kent Owen's lived. She noticed the door to that apartment was not locked. Rather than go in, she called the police."

"Smart lady," Ironside said. "Any sign of Robert. He was going over there."

"I am afraid so. I found him laying on the floor, Chief. Someone clobbered him from behind."

"Is he alright?" Ironside asked, concerned for his son's well-being.

"Yes. He seems to be."

"Hold him there, Duffy. We'll be right over." Ironside hung up the phone. "Fran, Mark! Let's go!"

4

The drive out to Sonoma County was beautiful this time of the year. Ed never mind making it. With the chief seeing Katherine, he obviously made the drive more often than Ed did. He always remarked how beautiful and peaceful it was. The sergeant could not agree more. He could almost forget why he was making it -- almost. It had been gnawing at him since he left Paul Mantee's office. He actually said he would deny the chief said Brian James' sister's house was where James had said he stashed the information on Donnie Walker. Ed had been right there and he heard it loud and clear. The sergeant blamed himself since the chief had told him to go after James' records. He had backed off when Mantee said he would have them picked up. The chief had not been hard on him about it. Ed was certain that was because he had been right there in the room when Mantee said it, and did not overrule the district attorney.

This could very well destroy any case they could have had on Donnie Walker. Brown just could not believe he could have been so careless. With Brian James dead, they lost the only witness they had against Walker. Why didn't Mantee go directly to Brian James' sister's house and pick up whatever the man had hidden there. It was basically all they had on the crook. Now they probably didn't even have that.

Brown pulled up in front of the house. He got out of his car and headed for the apartment door. His fears were realized when he noticed the door had been kicked in. Not surprised at this turn of events, he knew he would find nothing inside unless James had been very creative as to where he hid the records he had mentioned to Chief Ironside.

As a precaution, Sergeant Brown pulled his service revolver out of its holster and then shoved the door open with the barrel of the gun. From the position he was standing, he could see into the apartment. It was totally trashed, just as he expected it would be. Ed wondered if the man or men who ransacked the place found what they wanted. He should have come out here as soon as the chief told him to. Since when did they wait on the district attorney's office?

Ironside's sergeant check through the entire house before determining there was no one inside. He reached into his pocket and called headquarters. He might as well give his boss the bad news. There was no sense in waiting until he had searched the place. He wasn't expecting to find anything anyway. He called the direct line to the chief's office. Waiting for either Mark or Fran to answer, the phone continued to ring until he got the voice mail. Ed left a message to let Chief Ironside know what he had found and hung up. Calling headquarters once again, he requested a couple experienced officers to help him search. He had requested Officer Duffy, but he was already out on assignment for Chief Ironside. Ed wondered what that was all about. What had the chief come up with? He hoped it was more than he was going to come up with here. Who knows, maybe he would get lucky. He headed into the main living room. It was as good a place as any to start.

5

Donnie Walker was angry. Angry at Brian James for putting his organization in jeopardy. At least he would never do it again. Fortunately, he had found the box of records James had been compiling and stealing from him. The little weasel must have been planning to betray him all along. He wished he could have involved himself in killing James. The snitch deserved what he got. Nobody snitched on Donnie Walker. If they did, it was an automatic death sentence. He only wished the last thing James had seen was his face so that he knew Donnie had been the one to order his death.

He thought about Ironside. What was it about the cripple that instilled so much fear in guys like James? The man was nothing more than a cripple. It had been the media that had made him some kind of super hero. For cripes sake, what could a man do from a wheelchair?

He reached into his desk and pulled out the glock he had placed there earlier. If he ran into any of that cripple's cops, he was going to put a bullet in their head. He had about had it with Ironside and his people. The man had severely crippled his operation. The bar was closed and costing him a fortune to bring up to code. The police were harassing his collectors and going after his bank accounts. They were following him where ever he went. Hell, he couldn't sneeze without Ironside knowing it. Donnie smiled. Yet, with all that attention, it had not stopped him from kidnapping Ironside's daughter.

She was the key to everything. He had her tucked away where Ironside would not find her. Once he got his business up and running, he would kill her as a punishment to that damn cop. In fact, he was sure keeping her alive at this point was not doing him any good. What if Ironside found out where she was? Oh, he was giving the man too much credit. Donnie cursed himself for sounding like Brian James. Yet, in the back of his mind, something kept telling him he had underestimated the man.

What was the purpose in keeping Chong Lee Yung alive? They needed to find a dead body to prosecute her husband, didn't they? Donnie didn't know much about the law. He had never seen the need to hire an attorney. No legal authority had gotten close to him in the past. In fact, no one had ever harassed him as Ironside was doing now. Should he have listen to Brian? Maybe he should have left Kwangsoo Yung alone. Look at the mess it had gotten him into.

Any time a cop got in his way, Donnie simply had them wasted. It was time he put a stop to Ironside's interference. Killing him would not be easy. He was constantly surrounded by cops. How was he going to get past them to get to Ironside? Well, first thing first. It was time he sent Ironside's foster daughter back to him in a body bag. This time he was going to do the honors himself. Then he would take care of that cop son of his. Once he had those two out of the way--Ironside was next.


	15. Chapter 15

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 15

1

As usual, Robert Ironside felt like it was taking forever to get to Kent Owens' apartment. He attempted to refrain from pushing Mark to drive faster. He knew the young man was driving as fast as it was safely possible.

As if he did not have enough to worry about with Chong, now his son was injured. He was beginning to wonder if he was wrong in involving Robert in this investigation. Although, he knew he probably could not keep him out of it. His son had not known he had a foster sister. Now that he did, she was his only sister as Robert was an only child to Jeanine and Jacque Duvalier. Chief Ironside was actually his father as he had had an affair with Jeanine many years ago in Montreal. She had not told him that Robert was his son. It had been kept from him throughout the years until the young man had come to San Francisco to help solve the bombings in the city that were being done by Pierre Fougere. When Roberts life had been in danger, she had been forced to tell Ironside the truth about Robert's parentage.

Ironside had been proud of his son when he had decided to go into police work. It certainly was a much better occupation then he previously was in. Even though Duffy had told him that Robert would be all right, Ironside could not help but worry about him anyway.

The question going through his mind was what was in that apartment which caused the attack on Robert. Hopefully, his son would have some kind of explanation.

Marc Sanger pulled the chief's van up in front of the apartment building in which Kent Owens had lived. There were two police cars parked in front of the building. Ironside wheeled onto the lift, pressed the button and lowered his chair to the pavement. By that time, both Mark and Fran joined him on the lift side of the van. Mark stepped behind his boss and pushed his chair towards the apartment building. As they approached, a uniformed police officer opened the door for them. Ironside put his hands on both sides of the door frame and pulled his chair into the building. He wheeled into what had been the home of Kent Owens. Sitting on the sofa, Robert was holding an ice bag on the back of his head. When he saw his father wheel into the room, he lowered the bag and stood up.

"I am sorry, Papa. I had it in my hands and lost it," Robert said regretfully.

"Sit down, Robert" Ironside said softly to his son. When the young man was once again seated on the sofa, his father asked, "Are you alright?"

"I think this job is beginning to give me a headache." Robert smiled at his own attempt at humor.

"What happened?" Ironside inquired.

"While I was searching the apartment, I found a diary. It was in Kent Owens' handwriting."

"How do you know that?" Fran asked him.

"By the bank records that were emailed to me today. There was an example of his handwriting in those records. I compared it to the diary and the handwriting matched," Robert informed them.

"Where is the diary now?" Ironside asked him, already knowing the answer to his question.

"I had it just before I was clobbered from behind," Robert explained. "Someone hit me and I blacked out. When I woke up, The diary was gone."

"What was in it?" Ironside questioned.

"I didn't get a chance to look through the entire diary," Robert told him, "but I did see money figures that Kent Owens apparently had been stealing from Donnie Walker."

"How do you know it was from Donnie Walker?" Mark was standing beside his boss with his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

"Because he mentioned him by name in the diary. According to the bank, he had been making deposits. Papa, the deposits added up to thousands of dollars. Each figure in accounts of different names, equaled the amounts in the diary."

"Are you certain of that? If the money was in accounts in different names, how do you know they belonged to Kent Owens?" the chief demanded.

"The guy obviously wasn't very smart. He used different names, but he used his own social security number on all of the accounts."

"No one ever claimed crooks were intelligent," Mark quipped.

Ironside looked up at his aid. "A lot of crooks are extremely clever, Mark. That is what makes some of them elusive."

"Obviously, this guy was not clever at all," Mark said.

"You didn't get a look at this guy at all?" Ironside eyes bored into those of his son's.

Robert shook his head. "He hit me from behind. I never saw it coming. I must have been concentrating on what was in the diary, and I did not hear him."

"Did he take your cell phone as well?" The chief figured whoever assaulted Robert and took the diary probably did not think to check his cell phone. If Robert still had it, it might provide a clue as to where the money came from.

"No, my cell phone is in my pocket."

"Let's see it" Ironside put out his hand to receive the phone.

Robert pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to his father. The detective look down the list of deposits. Robert had been correct. The amounts Kent Owens had been stealing ran into the thousands of dollars. He was also correct about the social security numbers. They were the same on the accounts.

"I want a search warrant. We need to have these deposits traced. Find out where they came from. Owens could not have walked into the bank with some of these large sums. There is no way Donnie Walker would have missed that."

"I will get started on that right away, Papa." He accepted his phone as his father handed it back to him.

"What you will do right away is go to the hospital and get checked out." Ironside's tone was a no-nonsense order.

"I'm fine. It is nothing but a bump on the head."

"And just when did you get your medical degree? You are going to the hospital to get checked out, and that is an order."

Robert shook his head. "It just isn't necessary. I'm fine."

"Duffy!" Ironside shouted over his shoulder.

Officer Duffy joined them immediately. "Yes, Chief."

"You are to accompany Detective Duvalier to the hospital. He is to be checked out, and make sure he does not leave the hospital until the doctors clear him to do so."

"Yes, sir."

"Robert, before you go, email those bank records to me," Ironside told his son.

After Robert did as his father asked, Officer Duffy helped him to his feet and led him out of Kent Owen's apartment.

Ironside pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Checking to see if the email Robert had sent him had arrived, he was reminded how dangerous police work could be at times. Although Robert would be just fine, he could have seriously been hurt or even killed. Apparently, his attacker did not think it was necessary to eliminate him.

The chief was sure this was the work of Donnie Walker. He probably did not do it himself, but he had no doubt that Walker had ordered someone to find that diary. The question was, did he know about it or did he just send someone to remove any incriminating evidence Kent Owens might have in his apartment?

It seemed that every time they got close to a clue or evidence against Walker, it's slipped through their fingers. Ironside was sick of being one step behind this crook. He had to find Chong and do it soon, or he would not find her alive.

2

Chong Lee Yung opened her eyes. Her mind was fuzzy. Where was she and how did she get here? The room was dark as the drapes were pulled. She got off of the bed she apparently had been sleeping on. No, that could not be correct. She would not be sleeping in a strange bedroom. The last thing she remembered was talking to Kwangsoo in their apartment. What had happened? What was she doing here? Where was her husband?

Slowly, she slid to the side of the bed and stood up. Her head was spinning, so she stood there for a moment to clear the cloud that threatened to engulf her. Why could she not remember how she got here?

Chong remembered Kwangsoo came to her father's office and convinced her to go home with him. They were going to talk about their problems and try to resolve the mess their marriage had become.

Someone had intervened. Suddenly, her memory began returning. She remembered turning on the light in their apartment and seeing Kwangsoo on the floor. There had been two men waiting inside their home.

Chong remembered kicking her attacker. Her efforts had gotten her hit in the face with the butt of a gun. The man had wanted to kill her, but the one that was with him had stopped him. Somebody named Donnie was upset with her father.

Then she remembered one of them took a knife and sliced her arm. They had spread her blood around. After forcing her out of the apartment, they shoved her into a van. Chong remembered one of them holding her down as the other injected something into her arm. It must have been the reason for the fogginess she was feeling. She had not considered that it could possibly be from blood loss. Chong had no idea what drug they had used on her, but it had been effective.

Who was Donnie and what did he want with her? His name was not the least bit familiar. Did Kwangsoo know who this man was? Was he mixed up with him somehow, or was this revenge against her father?

As her head began to clear, she decided to venture out across the room and see if she could figure out where she was. The first thing she was going to check was the door. As she reached it, she attempted to turn the knob. As expected, it was locked. Shoving her shoulder into the door, she attempted to force it open by breaking the lock away from the frame. It was futile as she was not strong enough to break down the door. She wondered how police officers had such an easy time of it. Finally, she determined it was a waste of time so she gave up.

Chong walked over to the window and the drapes. She pulled them back and found they were covered with wood from the outside. No wonder it was so dark in there. She attempted to open the windows, but neither of them would budge.

Chong looked around the room for something that would break the window and possibly knock the wood out. She settled on a lamp that sat on the dresser. Unplugging it, she lifted it and removed the shade. Chong turned it upside down and slammed it into the window. The glass shattered and fell to the floor. She then continued to pound the bottom of the lamp on the wood covering the window.

After ten minutes, she was beginning to tire. It did not stop her as she knew she had to get out of there. She had to find somewhere she could call her father. Chong was worried about Kwangsoo. He could be in serious trouble. Her husband needed help. Chong just had to reach her father. He was the only one she could trust to help her and Kwangsoo.

As she continued to pound the wood on the window, it began to splinter. Chong had not heard the lock turn in the door.

Donnie Walker stood there watching her pound away at the window. "You are wasting your time."

Chong turned quickly and saw the man standing there. "You must be Donnie."

Surprised that she knew his name, he walked closer to her. Chong took a step back from him. He smiled at her fear. "How did you know my name?""

"I heard one of the men say Donnie wants me alive," she answered.

"Damn stupid fools!" he exclaimed out loud. How could they be so careless as to reveal his name in front of her? It really didn't matter as he could not let her live anyway, especially since he had decided to see her face to face. She could now identify him.

"So you are Ironside's foster daughter?"

Chong did not answer him. She was not about to confirm or deny anything. This man would not get any information from her.

Walker just smiled at her silence. "It doesn't matter that you won't answer me. I know who you are, and I know who your father is. None of this would have happened if that husband of yours would have just paid the money he owes me."

It dawned on Chong who this man had to be. "You are the shark."

Donny grinned. "I believe the words you are looking for is loan shark. That is just a name cops come up with to make our collection efforts sound evil. I am just a businessman collecting the money people borrow from me."

"You are an animal!" She shouted at him. "Where is my husband? What have you done to him?"

Walker looked at the blood Chong had on her clothing where his boys head cut her. With a sweeping gesture of his hand, Donnie said, "You should stop worrying about your husband, and start worrying about yourself. He is fine, you are not. Your father is going to pay for what he has done to me. He is going to pay with your life. You see, we have set it up to look like your husband has murdered you. He is in police custody as we speak. The police picked him up -- covered in your blood. When they find your body, he will be charge with murder. You will be dead and Ironside's son-in-law will get the death penalty. That will be Ironside's punishment for interfering. No stupid cop gets away with what he has done. When I am done with you, I will go after his son. And when he is dead, I am going to kill Ironside. Then it will be business as usual."

Chong was scared for her life, but she would never let this animal know it. "You may well kill me, but you will never kill my father. He will never stop looking for you and he will find you. You will be the one going to jail for murder."

Walker could not help but admire this woman's spunk. If he had not known she was Ironside's foster daughter, he would have thought she had been raised by him.

Billy Morton came into the room. "Boss, I got the body bag you wanted. Also I have the box." He looked at Chong. "I have no doubt she will fit in it just fine. So whenever you're ready, let me know."

Donnie Walker continued to stare at Chong. It might be more fun to terrorize Ironside. After all, he had been terrorizing him for a while now. He deserved to have the tables turned on him. "Put them in the other room. I have changed my mind about killing her right now."

"Is that a good idea? You have to know that Ironside is looking for her. I know you don't think much of him, but he is a better detective than you give him credit for. Before you belt me in the mouth, I think you should listen to me. Brian James betrayed us, but he was not wrong about Ironside. He is not going to stop looking for this woman. Boss, he will find her if we keep her alive. Why not kill her now and dump her body somewhere where Ironside can find it. He has nothing on us. It will teach him to mess with you. Keeping her alive only gives him more time to find her."

"Alright, I will admit that I have been wrong about Ironside. Believe me, I will not underestimate him again. I want to make him suffer. I want him to know that she is alive, and that she is going to die. I want him to look for her. I want him to think that he can find her. After he has suffered long enough, then he will suffer the ultimate loss. That's when we will kill her."

"Are you sure about this? That is a lot of wants, Boss. Everybody else that has tangled with that cop is either dead or in jail. I didn't think much of him either, but I have spent time doing some checking on him. He's not like other cops, he's dangerous. Look, we have not been in San Francisco that long. We could always pick up and go some place else. Somewhere Ironside can't reach us. Why don't we set up shop somewhere else? Before we leave, we can make him pay for what he's done. Let's just kill her and get it over with."

"I'm not going anywhere. I have never been run out of town by any cop. Ironside is not going to be the first. It is time to make him suffer." Walker stared at Chong. She did not seem to be affected at all. She stared back at him in defiance. She was not scared of him. She was going to learn differently.

"Billy, find Davie. I want a video camera, a chair and some rope. We are going to make a little movie."

Billy didn't like it, but he knew he was not going to change Donnie's mind. "Alright, boss, I will be right back." He left the room and close the door.

"What are you going to do to me?" Chong asked.

Walker grinned at her. "You're going to love it."

A few minutes later, Billy Morton returned, along with Davie Fryman. Morton set a plain wooden chair down next to Chong, while Davie set up a video camera on a tripod.

"Sit down," Walker ordered Chong.

"No, I am not sitting in that chair." She looked at the rope Billy was holding in his hands. Chong was trying to keep her tough composure. She did not know how long it would be before it started to slip. Whatever Walker had planned for her, it could not be good.

"Sit in the chair, now!"

"No! I won't do it."

By now, Fryman had the camera completely set up. Morton stood by with the rope, waiting on instructions from Walker.

Donnie turned to the two men and nodded. They did not need words to know what he wanted. Fryman and Morton went immediately to Chong. They grabbed her and roughly threw her into the chair. With the rope Billy had brought in, they began tying Chong's feet to the legs of the chair, and her hands behind the back of the chair.

Chong's demeanor was no longer that of defiance. Walker reveled in the terrified look on her face.

He left the room momentarily and came back with a box which contained black robes and pillowcases with holes cut in them for eyes. He handed one set to Fryman and the other set to Morton. "Put these on. I don't want Ironside to be able to identify you."

They did as they were told and put them on. Walker then removed two whips from the box and handed one to each of them.


	16. Chapter 16

Josh Sticks and Murder

Chapter 16

1

Ironside was frustrated. So far, nothing had come of the traces put on the money in the accounts that Robert had discovered. It seemed as though the money had been deposited in cash. However, having checked the bank, many of those deposits were transfers. Unfortunately, Kent Owens was not is dumb is his staff first thought. He may have put his social security number on all of those accounts, but he was smart enough to transfer between so many accounts, it became almost impossible to figure out their origin.

It had been a couple days since Chong had disappeared. Ironside had one final day to hold his son-in-law. He would either have to charge him with murder or let him go. If he let him go, he knew with the evidence they had, Commissioner Randall would be all over him. Everything pointed at Kwangsoo as a murderer, or at the very least, a kidnapper. Despite the problems that his daughter and son-in-law were having, he found it extremely hard to believe Kwangsoo could harm Chong. He had no doubt that Donnie Walker was behind her kidnapping. His son-in-law conveniently had been framed for her disappearance. It would definitely turn into a murder charge he would be unable to stop, if her body showed up.

Ironside knew what he was going to do about Walker. He picked up the phone and called the proper authorities. He would at least make sure that Walker never got his liquor license back. He certainly couldn't run the restaurant in his establishment without a tremendous overhaul of the entire place.

He would make it his mission to make sure that after he made the corrections the health department was demanding, that he would never be able to open his place again.

His son, Robert, had spent twenty-four hours in the hospital. Ironside had barely been able to contain the young man. He was determined to find his foster sister. It was only Ironside's tone and temperament that kept Robert from going rogue.

His team had been working horrendous hours, attempting to find Chong. He literally had to order them to go home for rest, which he found hard to do as he himself was barely sleeping. They were so dedicated to him, he sometimes had to stop himself from working them too hard. His officers would be of no use to him completely exhausted.

The door to the office opened, Ed Brown entered. He walked swiftly down the ramp and joined his boss at the table. Fran, who had been sitting at the desk, also came to the table.

"What did you find out, Ed?" Ironside asked him.

"Other than the bar that Walker owns, he has no other properties in San Francisco," Ed reported.

"What about outside of the city?" the chief inquired.

"We are checking on that. Unfortunately, it is going very slow. Some of the surrounding suburbs are not inclined to cooperate. Some of them might require a visit from you," Ed told him.

"If you have to, go to Judge Thatcher and request search warrants of their information."

"I already thought of that, Chief. Unfortunately, the judge doesn't feel it is warranted. He says we have no evidence that she is being kept in any of those empty houses or buildings."

"Well, where in the flaming hell does he think they are keeping her?" the detective roared.

Ed could sympathize with his boss. He was feeling the exact same frustration that Ed had felt when the judge refused to give him the search warrants. As frustrated as he was, he knew his boss had to be much more so. Although, Ed had met Chong, she was not related to him. Despite the fact that she was not Ironside's blood relative, it made no difference. He considered her his daughter.

Actually, it would not make any difference if she were not. He would still be searching for her with the same intensity. As he was about to give Ironside the rest of his report, the door opened and Commissioner Randall walked in.

Randall came down the ramp and approached the table where Ironside and is officers were sitting. "Bob, we need to talk. Please excuse us," the commissioner told Fran and Ed.

The chief put up his hand to stop his officers from leaving. "If this is about Kwangsoo Yung, they can hear anything you have to say."

Randall was about to argue with his subordinate when he thought better of it. He almost always lost any arguments with Bob Ironside. He had to learn to pick his battles, and this was not one of them. He knew Bob would never back down. He decided to go ahead and discuss what he had to say in front of Ed and Fran. "Bob, I have to be completely honest with you. This is one of those times I think you and your office should step aside."

Ironside began shaking his head immediately. He was not about to allow the commissioner to take him off this case. His son-in-law was in jail for a murder he was certain he had not committed. His foster daughter had been kidnapped and may be dead already. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that Donnie Walker was responsible for all of it. This was the revenge he was taking for what Ironside's part was in the removal of his liquor license and interference with his collectors. There was no way he was going to back off. He had every intention of nailing Donnie Walker and seeing to it that he was put away for the rest of his life.

The commissioner watched his friend and subordinate. He knew this was going to be a big argument, but he was prepared for it. At least, he thought he was. One could never be completely prepared when it came to Robert Ironside. "Before you say anything, I want you to listen to me. You are too emotionally involved in this case. Your foster daughter has been kidnapped, your son has been attacked and your son-in-law is in jail for murder."

Ironside interrupted him immediately. "He is in jail on suspicion of murder. He is there because planted evidence points in his direction."

"Come on, Bob, you don't have one ounce of evidence that what you found was planted. My understanding is your foster daughter and her husband have not been getting along."

Once again, Chief Ironside stopped him from saying anything further. "Dennis, can you honestly say that you and Pat have never had an argument or a fight? Have there not been times when the two of you were not getting along? This is no different. Chong and Kwangsoo love each other. Their problem stems mostly because of me. The customs of the country they come from puts pressure on the man to take care of his family. Kwangsoo has been going to school and working. At the rate he is taking classes, it will take him some time to finish. Chong has become more Americanized than he has. He blames me for that. If he was going to attempt to kill anyone, it would be me."

"That's exactly what I am talking about. You are too close to this. If it were anyone else, you would have arrested them," Randall attempted to point out.

Ironside rolled his eyes. "I did arrest him, Dennis."

"But you are not out there trying to seal the case for the district attorney," Randall argued.

Frustrated and not trying to hide it, Ironside growled, "We have the evidence. What do you want me to do, manufacture more evidence?"

"The point is, you are simply too close to this particular case. I am ordering you off the case. I will have Lieutenant Carl Reese take it over."

"Dennis, in all the years I have known you and work for you, I have never defied you."

"Define never," he said sarcastically, looking directly into the eyes of his detective.

"Alright, I may have pushed the envelope a few times."

"Destroyed it would be a better description," Randall said.

"Look, Dennis, I will not leave this one alone. I can't. I have a foster daughter out there who is in trouble, and may not live much longer if I don't find her. I don't believe for one second that my son-in-law killed or kidnapped her. He loves her. I am asking you to trust me. How many times have I pulled the city council's chestnuts out of the fire? In doing that, I have also done the same for you."

"Bob, come on. If this was any other detective in this position, you would pull them off immediately. Do you deny that?"

"No, I don't. That is exactly what I would do. However, I am not just any detective. If I pulled a man off a case, he would have me investigating it. If you pull me off the case, who would I have investigating? I don't deny that Carl is an excellent detective. Would you deny that I am a better one?"

"Of course not."

"Then trust me to tell you that I am objective and I will investigate this case the same as I would any other one. If my son-in-law is guilty of kidnapping or murder, I will help nail him. "No one will do a more thorough job then I will, and you know it." Ironside watched his boss. He could tell that he was weakening. It was not time to let up on him. "When you were accused of murder, you had no problem with me investigating. Dennis, you are one of my closest friends. Was I being objective when I investigated to clear you?"

Randall knew he was losing another argument with his top detective. How could he argue with that? He would not have wanted anyone other than Bob Ironside investigating to clear him. The chief was right. He did not question that at all. He knew he was about to give in, but he just wanted to get in one more lick. "That is different than a family member."

"Is it now?" Ironside bore is deep blue eyes into those of his boss.

Randall looked away from him. "All right, Bob, you win. But I warn you, if I think you are becoming too emotionally involved, I will remove you from the case, and you won't be able to talk me out of it again." Randall got up and headed up there ramp.

Ironside was not about to allow him to have the last word. "You already said I am emotionally involved, which I am not!"

Randall stopped for a moment, shook his head and then left the office. Was he ever going to win an argument with Robert Ironside?

As he left, he passed Officer Duffy who was on his way in. Carrying a manila envelope, he walked directly over to Ironside. He stood there for a moment knowing he had really bad news to report to the chief.

"Well, is that for me?" Ironside growled.

Duffy had not been looking forward to giving the envelope to him. The men downstairs elected him to report the bad news to Ironside. Their reasoning was that Duffy was a favorite of the chief's.

"Chief, this was delivered by a sixteen-year-old boy. He told the officer at the duty desk he was paid fifty dollars to deliver it. Since we did not know who it was for, we inserted it into one of the computers."

"What is it, a flash drive?" Fran asked Duffy. The officer nodded his head in confirmation.

"What is on it?" Ironside demanded.

Duffy hesitated before answering. "Chief, It's Chong."

Ironside tore open the manila envelope and pulled the flash drive from inside. He flipped it over to Mark. His aid did not have to question what to do with it. He headed for the nearest computer, and put the flash drive in the USB slot.

A woman in a chair appeared on the screen. She was tied to it and had a black hood over her head. Ironside did not need to see the face of the woman to know who she was. He got a sick feeling in his stomach.

Two figures, entirely cloaked in black entered the picture. Each one held a whip in their hands. The man on the left began speaking. "Chief Ironside, we have been hired by Kwangsoo Yung to pick up your daughter and hold her prisoner." He pulled the hood from the woman's head and Ironside fears were realized. There was Chong wearing a gag. No doubt it was to keep her from telling Ironside where she was.

He could see the terrified look in her eyes. Was he right about his son-in-law? Could he possibly be behind the kidnapping? No, he did not believe that he was. This was simply more of the frame against him. Donnie Walker was responsible for this.

"Unfortunately, Mister Yung did not come up with the money he promised to pay us. So, Ironside, if you want to see her alive again, you better come up with $500,000. You see, besides the money Yung was supposed to pay us, he wanted to extort the $500,000 from you for the meddling you have done in his life."

Mark, Ed and Fran watched Ironside closely. All of them knew their boss did not have that kind of money. They wondered exactly how he would react to the demand.

The hooded kidnapper continued, "Just to make sure, that you understand we are serious, we will now give you a demonstration of what we will do to your daughter if you ignore our demands."

They all watched in horror as the two men took turns beating Chong with the whips they held in their hands. Ironside closed his eyes as he could feel the pain Chong was experiencing just as if it were him they were beating. These animals had made a grave mistake. The detective would not rest until they were in custody. He intended to take Donnie Walker and his henchmen down.

So intent on watching the video, no one heard Robert Duvalier enter the office. "Papa, we have to find her, and we have to do it now."

Ironside recognize the voice of his son, but ignored his remarks. When the video ended, he sat there without saying a word. There was complete silence in the room as his staff gave him the space he needed in order to decide what to do next.

Finally, Ironside spoke up. "Robert, you and Mark are to come with me. Fran and Ed, you continue working on the case. There has to be an empty house somewhere or a warehouse that is not in use at the moment. I want Chong found and I want her found now. Get a police artist up here, along with that boy that delivered the flash drive. I want a description of the man who paid him."

"Chief, one of us should go with you. You should have an officer with you," Fran said.

The detective looked up at his police woman. "You don't even know where I am going."

"You're going to see Donnie Walker," Sergeant Brown said. "Fran's right, one of us should go. You should have an officer with you."

"Robert is an officer," Ironside growled.

It bothered both Ed and Fran that the chief did not want them with him. Neither Mark nor Robert were responsible to the San Francisco Police department. It concern them that the chief had something planned he might regret later. Maybe the commissioner had been right, the chief was too emotionally involved in this case, due to the fact that his daughter was the one whose life was in jeopardy

"Chief, you are not planning to..." Fran said before her boss interrupted her.

"I am planning to talk to Donnie Walker," he snarled.

"And one of us should be with you," Ed insisted.

"You are to stay here and work on the case, and that is an order. Robert, Mark, let's go."

Ironside's detectives knew they could argue with him no further. When he made up his mind, it was like trying to move a mountain. They had no choice but to give in. They watched as their boss left the office with Mark and Robert.

"We shouldn't have let him go without us," Fran remarked.

"And just how were you planning on stopping him" Ed asked. "You know the chief as well as I do. Once his mind is made up, there is no changing it. We couldn't have stopped him, Fran."

"I know, but I don't like it."

"You are not alone, but there is not much we can do about it. So, let's get to work. I'll go down and see about the sketch artist."

2

Ironside had Mark make two stops and he spent the rest of the time on the police phone as they drove towards Donnie Walker's establishment. Robert watched his father, wondering what he had in mind. There had to be a reason he did not want his detectives along with him. He's supposed he and Mark could get away with more than Ed and Fran. Whatever his father had in mind, he figured he would find out soon enough.

Mark, on the other hand, had a pretty good idea what the chief had and mine. He always took him along when he wanted something done that his detectives could not do. Either Walker or his henchmen were about to get a taste of a very furious Ironside. If they thought they could get away with kidnapping Chong and beating her, they were sadly mistaken. Walker had no idea what he had unleashed in the form of Robert T. Ironside.

As Mark was pulling into the parking lot of Walker's bar, his boss was already wheeling himself onto the lift.

Robert knew that he did not know his father as well as Mark did. He could not possibly since Mark lived with his father on a daily basis. He turned to Mark and asked, "Is Papa under control?"

Sanger had suspected that Robert was worried about what the chief would do when he arrived at Walker's bar. Robert had not had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with his father, so Mark understood his concern. He decided to try to put his mind at ease. "He is always under control. What you are seeing is controlled anger. If there is one thing the chief has learned over the years is that you control your anger. You force the other guy to lose control of his anger. That is exactly what the chief plans on doing."

"Why did he bring us along instead of Sergeant Brown or officer Belding?"

"Because I can do things they can't," Mark told him, knowing that was certainly not going to ease his mind.

Both men joined Chief Ironside on the lift side of the van. He was already wheeling towards Walker's place. Mark sped up his pace to arrive at the door ahead of his boss.

Just as soon as they entered, Donnie Walker met them at the door. "What the hell are you doing in here, Ironside? Unless you have a warrant, get the hell out!"

Robert Ironside ignored him and kept moving forward. "You and I are going to have a talk. We can do it here or we can do it down at headquarters. It makes no difference to me."

Walker stood there for a moment and growled, "Say what you have to say and then get out."

Ironside reached into his pocket and pulled out a document. He handed it to Walker. Donnie looked down at it and then back at Ironside. "What's this, another search warrant?"

"Not exactly, Mister Walker. It is a warrant for the arrest of Billy Morton and David Fryman." Ironside stared at him with a look so cold, one would think it could snow right there in the bar.

"On what charge?" Walker demanded.

"Assault. Your boys have beaten up several people including Kwangsoo Yung. I have people willing to testify they have been victims of such assaults as a result of Morton and Fryman trying to collect money for you." Ironside continued to stare at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I do not collect money from people? I run a bar here and that is all."

Ironside pulled another paper out of his pocket and pushed it towards Walker.

"What's this?" Walker questioned as he took the paper from the detective.

"It's a notice that this place has been condemned as a result of the health inspection. You are out of business, Mister Walker. In fact, you can't even stay here. You have to leave. Furthermore, you missed your payment on the property. The bank is calling the loan due in full as per your mortgage agreement."

"What the hell are you talking about? I paid the payment. I sent it into the bank with Owens. He paid the payment! This us bullshit, Ironside!"

"Apparently, Mister Owens chose to keep the money rather than make your payment, just like all that money of yours he has tucked away in accounts under several different names. We were able to find them because your boy was not very bright. He used his own social security number on all of them."

"Owens didn't steal any money from me."

"Then why did you have one of your thugs knock out Detective Duvalier, steal Kent Owens diary and murder him?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. I didn't murder anyone," Donnie snarled.

"No, you never do it yourself, do you? You are too much of a coward. You have someone do it for you. You sent Owens in to murder Brian James. You ransacked James' sister's house and stole the records he was keeping on every crooked scheme you have been involved in." Ironside continued to push Walker. He intended to push him into making a move. He would make a mistake and then Ironside would have him.

"You know what, Ironside? You have a big mouth. You can't prove any of it," Walker said with a grin.

"Oh, I think I will be able to prove all of it, Mister Walker, just as soon as I pick up Morton and Fryman. Do you really think they won't talk when I charge them with murder?"

"You're bluffing Ironside. You can't prove murder and you know it."

"Can't I? We have a witness that saw them pick up Kent Owens outside of police headquarters. The car is being impounded. Will we find Owens DNA in the vehicle? If we do, we have them on Murder One. Do you really think they won't talk to the district attorney? I have no doubt he will offer one of them a deal; life in prison rather than the death penalty. They'll talk, Mister Walker. They will roll over on you to save their own skin. When they do, I am coming for you. Robert, check the premises for Morton and Walker. Mark, go with him."

"Chief," Mark said, concerned for his boss' safety.

"I'll be alright, Mark. I am armed. I am sure Mister Walker is not quite that stupid."

Robert and Mark left as Ironside continued. "One last thing, Walker. I know you have Chong. I also know you framed Kwangsoo Yung. You are not going to get away with it. I intend to bring you down. You're a coward. You put a woman in a chair and have Fryman and Morton beat the hell out of her….a woman. You didn't have the guts to come after me, a cripple. No, you went after my daughter. Let me tell you this, if anything happens to her, you will rue the day you ever heard my name. You are going to release her with no further harm. You're finished in San Francisco. Don't bother to try to leave town, I have it bottled up.

Mark and Robert returned. "They are not here, Chief," Robert informed him using his father's title.

Ironside turned his chair towards the door. "Remember what I said, Walker. It is the only warning you are going to get." He wheeled out of the bar with Mark and Robert following.

When he got outside, he told his son. "There is a gray Ford Fusion one block away." He flipped the keys over to Robert. "Don't let Walker out of your sight."

"Papa, we don't have a witness that saw Morton and Fryman pick up Owens."

"I know that, you know that, but Walker doesn't know it," Ironside said.

"What about their vehicle? Did we have it picked up?" Robert asked.

"Ed will take care of that. It's called Chess, Robert. Learn the game. I simply put his king in check. It's Walker's move. When he makes it, it will be checkmate. Now get going."

The chief wheeled over to the van, got into the lift and pressed the button. When he got inside, Mark was already behind the wheel. "Mark, get Ed and Fran on the phone."

"I thought you brought me along because you were going to have me do something you couldn't have Ed or Fran do."

"That was the general idea until I got in the van. Then everything changed. I am going to force Walker to make a move and then I am going to nail him to a wall. Now call Ed and Fran!"


	17. Chapter 17

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 17

1

The door to Ironside's office opened and a uniformed police officer brought in David Spicer. The 16-year-old boy was obviously very nervous. Sergeant Brown decided he better put him at ease immediately.

"You are David Spicer, are you not?"

David looked around the room. He had heard a lot about Chief Ironside. He had heard he was not a man that you would want to face if you were in trouble. However, when he checked the surroundings, he did not see the detective. David recognized the tall, handsome sergeant to be Ed Brown, Ironside's number one man. He did not recognize what he assumed was a policewoman. Ironside's policewoman was a blonde. The woman sitting at the table was a brunette.

"Yes, that is my name. Am I in trouble?"

The lad had just confirmed Sergeant Brown's suspicions what the boy was nervous about. "No, David, you are not in trouble. We need your help. Have a seat."

Relief flooded through the young man. He was afraid he had done something illegal. He sat down at the table and asked, "What kind of help?"

"It is my understanding that you were paid to bring a manila envelope into the police department," Ed said.

"Yes, sir. A man paid me to bring it into police headquarters."

"Do you remember what that man looked like?" Fran Belding asked him.

The boy looked over at the dark-haired woman sitting at the table. Sergeant Brown could see that he was uncertain about talking to her. "David, I am Sergeant Brown, and this is my colleague Officer Belding. You can answer her questions."

"Yes, I remember exactly what he looked like."

The door to the office opened and a man walked into the room with a sketch pad. "Hi Ed, I hear you need my services."

"That's right, George. Come on in and have a seat." George walked over and sat down at the main table beside David.

David stared at the sketchpad the police officer had in his hand. "You use the same type of sketch pad that I do."

Brown sat down at the table and said to David, "Do you draw?"

David turned his attention to the sergeant. "Yes, I would like to be an artist someday. I am told I am very good."

Brown looked over at Fran who smiled back at him and nodded her head. After turning his attention back to David, Ed said, "Then you should be very good at details. Is that right?"

"I put a lot of detail into my drawings," the boy told him.

"Do you think you could remember the details of the man who paid you to bring the manila envelope into the police department?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Alright then. You will describe the man in as much detail as you can remember and George will sketch him," Sergeant Brown said.

Before the boy could begin describing the man, Fran interrupted them. "If David is as good as he says he is, maybe we should allow him to do the sketching."

"That's a good idea, Ed," George agreed.

"Do you think you could do that?" Brown asked David.

"Piece of cake," the kid said.

George handed his sketch pad to David and sat back and watched. The boy went to work immediately sketching the man that had paid him to bring the manila envelope into police headquarters. Everyone remained silent and watched him. There was no doubt the boy was good. The man he had seen began to materialize on the paper.

It only took David about fifteen minutes to complete the sketch. When he was finished, he handed it to Ed Brown. "That's the man that paid me."

Ed turned the sketch around so that he could see it. Fran stood up and looked over his shoulder. She smiled at Ed and said, "Does that man look familiar to you?"

"It's without a doubt Billy Morton. The chief is going to be pleased. This will tie Donnie Walker to Chong's kidnapping," Brown said.

"Not directly, Ed. However, when we pick him up, I am betting that he caves and refuses to take the rap alone." Fran continued to look at the sketch that David had just completed.

"David, you will probably have to testify in court that this is the man that paid you to bring in the manila envelope to Chief Ironside,"Sergeant Brown told him.

"Then I am really not in any trouble at all?" he asked the officers.

The sergeant smiled at him. "No, you are not in any trouble. In fact, I am certain the chief will want to thank you personally for your excellent work on that sketch."

The lad grinned at Brown. "Do you think I would have a chance at a career as a sketch artist for the police department?"

George laughed. "Looks like my job is in jeopardy! You have an excellent chance to become a police sketch artist."

David's grin became even bigger. "I wanted to do something with my drawing. Now, I have a goal to strive for."

"The officer will take you home," Sergeant Brown said as the man stepped forward to lead the boy out of the office.

After he was gone, Brown told Belding, "Get the chief on the phone."

2

"Ed, the chief is not answering his phone. You know what he is like with that cell phone," Fran told her superior officer.

Just then, the door to the office opened. Ironside wheeled in and down the ramp.

"Chief, we were just trying to get a hold of you," Ed told him.

"I know that. I didn't answer because I was on my way up."

"You should take a look at this," Fran told him as she held up the drawing which young David Spicer had produced for them.

Ironside took it from his officer and scrutinized the drawing. "Is this the man the boy received money from to bring the flash drive into my office?"

"Yes sir," Ed Brown answered.

"I want Billy Morton picked up immediately." Ironside dropped the the drawing on the table. "I called this office to issue orders to the two of you and all of the lines were busy."

"Sorry about that, Chief, but we were just following your orders trying to locate somewhere which Walker could be holding Chong," Ed told him.

"Come over and sit down. We have a lot to discuss and a lot to do in a very short period of time."

Ed and Fran joined the boss at the table. Before he could begin, the office door opened and Commissioner Randall came in and walked down the ramp.

Ironside turned his head to see who it just entered his office. When he saw the commissioner headed in, he knew there was a major battle ahead. "Mark, get the commissioner a cup of coffee."

"No thanks, Mark, I will not be here long enough to drink it. Bob, your time is up. Why have you not had Kwangsoo Yung arraigned for the murder of Chong Yung?"

"Because he didn't do it, Dennis."

"Every bit of evidence you have points to him as the murderer of your daughter. I cannot believe you were just sitting back and not having him arraigned."

"Dennis, he didn't do it. I have..."

Randall interrupted his detective. "It can't go on any longer. There is a group of reporters downstairs in the lobby demanding to know why you haven't had him arraigned."

Ironside shook his head. "I don't care what they are demanding. He did not kill Chong."

"You know fully well that many convictions have come about without the actual body. I doubt hers will ever be found." Commissioner Randall continued, "You cannot hold off any longer. I am ordering you to officially have him arraigned for murder."

"Dennis..."

"No, Bob, I will not accept any excuses this time."

"Will you stop interrupting me and just listen for a minute?" Ironside snarled at his boss. "I have proof she is not dead."

"With a surprised look on his face, Commissioner Randall said, "Well, why didn't you say so? What proof? Why didn't you call me and tell me? Why do you always leave me in the dark? Why..."

This time Ironside interrupted his boss. "Dennis, if you will stop asking questions, I will show you the proof. Fran, put the flash drive in the computer."

Officer Belding went over to Chief Ironside's desk and inserted the flash drive into the computer. When she had brought the video up, she turned and looked at the boss. "It's ready, Chief."

Without saying anything further to Randall, Ironside wheeled over to the desk. Randall followed him. The chief nodded at Fran, and she started the video. When it was completed, the detective turned and looked at his boss. "Now do you really want me to have Kwangsoo arraigned on a murder charge?"

"Of course not. However, I do want you to charge him with kidnapping," Randall ordered.

"Dennis, he did not kidnap Chong. He didn't pay anybody to beat her either."

"And just how do you know that? I said before that you are too close to this to be working this case. I think it is time that you turn it over to Lieutenant Reese."

"That is not going to happen. I have no intentions of turning this case over to anyone," Ironside growled at his boss.

"Then you give me no choice, Bob. I am removing you from this case."

"You can't remove me, Dennis. You might be able to officially do it, but I refuse to quit working the case." He reached over and picked up the sketch that had been done earlier by David Spicer. "That was done by the boy that was paid to bring in that flash drive. Do you know who that is a sketch of?"

Randall studied the sketch for a moment. He certainly knew exactly who it was. It was a perfect likeness of Billy Morton who worked for Donnie Walker. "Are you saying that Walker is responsible for your foster daughter's abduction?"

"That is exactly what I am saying," Ironside said.

"So why don't you just pick him up?"

"If you are talking about Morton, we have an arrest warrant out on him."

"I am talking about Walker. If you know he is responsible, why haven't you arrested him?" Commissioner Randall demanded.

"There is a little thing called evidence, Dennis. I am sure you have heard of it," the chief said sarcastically.

Randall rolled his eyes. "Then you are going to release your son-in-law despite the fact that the man in the video said he was responsible for hiring them?"

"No, I am not going to turn him loose. Not because I believe he hired those men, but I am going to keep him there for his own protection. He is literally out of his mind over Chong's abduction. I cannot predict what he will do. One thing is for sure, he will get in my way. I cannot allow that. I have Robert following Donnie Walker. He should lead us to where Chong is. I have used the health department to close Walker down permanently. Furthermore, I found out he was a payment behind on the mortgage. The bank is going to call the note due and foreclose on him. They will not be accepting a payment to bring it up-to-date."

"Can they do that?" Randall asked.

"They can according to his mortgage contract. Although, it is unusual, they can do it."

"In another words, what you are telling me is that you have pushed him to the limit. He has to make a move. Bob, do you realize he just may kill your foster daughter?"

"That is not going to happen. I will be there when he goes for her. Robert is not going to let him out of his sight. Believe me, he has a stake in this too."

"So how are you going to hold your son-in-law in jail without charging him?"

"That's easy, I am going to charge him with kidnapping. However, I will explain to him why," Ironside answered.

"Dear God, this is going to create a media circus," Randall agonized. "When the press finds out you are arresting your own son-in-law, there is going to be a feeding frenzy."

"I already arrested him on suspicion of murder."

"I know that, Bob. However, the media didn't know it. They have gotten wind of the fact that your son-in-law is being held. We will not be able to keep this under wraps any longer," Randall said. "Is it possible for you to release him?"

"Dennis, a few minutes ago, you wanted him officially charged. Now you are telling me to release him."

"That was before I found out you had the flash drive. He obviously is not guilty of murder, at least not yet."

"But the man in the video said Kwangsoo hired them. I have to hold him on that since all of the other evidence points towards him."

"But you said you didn't believe that to be true," the commissioner argued.

"Dennis, will you listen to yourself? You came in here demanding that I drop my involvement in this case, believing that I am not objective and am refusing to charge my son-in-law. I tell you I am going to charge him, and you tell me you want me to release him. I suggest you make up your mind which it is."

"I am sorry, Bob. It is just that the media..."

"To hell with the media!" Ironside said, raising his voice. "We know who is guilty here and I intend to nail Donnie Walker. You are just going to have to put up with the media storm until I have the evidence to bring him in."

Dennis Randall got up from the chair he was in and headed for the door. Ironside had never seen him so rattled. Was he really worried what the media would think simply because Ironside was arresting his own son-in-law? He really didn't have any choice until he proved his innocence. He knew Walker was responsible. Proving it was not going to be easy, but he had no doubt he would do it.

Walker would make his move. He hoped he had not made a mistake leaving Robert to follow him. Ed and Fran were far more experienced in following people. Still, Robert had proven himself to be an excellent detective with good instinctive skills. He had other plans for Ed and Fran

3

Kwangsoo wondered just how long he was going to have to sit in this cell. He was worried about Chong. His father-in-law had not updated him about anything since the last time he had spoken to him. He couldn't believe that he would think that he would harm Chong. He loved her. She was his entire life. He did not want to think about that he might have to live without her if Donnie Walker murdered her.

He had been set up. He was beginning to question his own judgement. Why had he not told his father-in-law about being approached by the thugs that worked for Donnie Walker? Had his pride gotten the better of him that he could not accept Robert Ironside's help? He could finish school much faster if he had the money now. Why was he fighting with the woman he loved? Maybe she was right. He was no longer living in their home country. He came to America for a better life, yet so far all he did was fight against the things it had to offer. Tradition was fine as long as it didn't stand in the way of progress.

He had to get out this cell and find Chong before something happened to her. Time was being wasted, precious time he could not afford. Kwangsoo had to convince Chief Ironside to let him go.

He heard someone enter the jail. A moment later he recognized the boisterous voice of his father-in-law. The gate leading to the cells was unlocked and Kwangsoo watched as his father-in-law wheeled his chair towards his cell. He stopped in front of it. No one else was with him. Kwangsoo waited for Ironside to speak.

"How are you holding up?" the detective asked him.

"I need to get out of here. I have to find Chong. Please, isn't there any way you can get me out of here?" Kwangsoo ask him.

"I am afraid not. I came here to update you. What I'm going to tell you is going to be upsetting, but I want you to know that I am going to do everything that I can."

"Is Chong alright?" he asked him despite being scared of the answer.

"As far as I know. We received a video. Two men were holding her." Ironside became silent. He wasn't sure he should tell the young man exactly what was in the video, but then again he had the right to know.

"What is it? Please tell me."

"They claimed that you hired them to abduct Chong."

"That's ridiculous! You can't possibly believe that!" Kwangsoo shouted.

"No, I do not believe it. I know we haven't gotten along very well in the past. I would like to change that, and I'm hoping that you do as well. What I have to tell you is going to be very upsetting. I have no choice but to charge you with the abduction of Chong."

"What! You just got through saying you didn't believe that I hired them!" Kwangsoo's voice was on the verge of becoming hysterical.

Ironside knew he had to calm the young man down in order to find out what he needed to know. "I do not believe it, not even for a minute. Unfortunately, Donnie Walker has set you up. He has done a good job of it. However, he isn't going to get away with it. I need your help. I don't believe that you have been honest with me. Kwangsoo, if I am to find Chong, you must be honest with me now."

"What do you want to know?"

"Did you borrow any money from Donnie Walker?"

"I told you before, I did not borrow any money from him. I learned my lesson the first time I borrowed money from a loan shark."

"Alright, I will accept that. However, you haven't been entirely honest with me. Were you approached by Walker or his men to pay more money?" Ironside asked him, his voice abnormally soft for interrogating a prisoner.

Kwangsoo looked down away from his father-in-law. "Yes, they did. They said I did not pay all of the money back to the previous loan shark. I was told that I only paid back the balance and not the interest. They were trying to make me pay back that amount, and they were adding interest to that amount daily. I tried to tell Walker I didn't owe him any money, but he wouldn't listen."

Sure he already knew the answer to his next question, Ironside asked it anyway. Why didn't you come to me? I could have helped you with the situation. Kwangsoo, I am not your enemy. You are married to my foster daughter. I care about you as much as I do her. I am the one person who could have helped you with this situation."

"I didn't come to you because they threatened her. They said if I did, they would go after Chong. I could not allow that. It is my job to protect her."

"And it is my job to protect the citizens of San Francisco, which includes the two of you."

"I am sorry. I was afraid for her safety."

"Kwangsoo, the men in the video beat Chong. I have to find her quickly before they do anymore harm to her. Unfortunately, I have to do something I don't like. I have to charge you with abduction. You will be arraigned tomorrow morning."

The young man was about to protest when Ironside put up his hand to silence him. I will hire a local attorney to represent you. If it goes beyond that, I will bring in my brother from Los Angeles. I don't believe that will be necessary as I intend to nail Donnie Walker soon. I know you do not want to stay here and I do not blame you. Whether you realize it or not, this is the best place for you. I know if you were free to do as you choose, you would be out looking for Chong and probably doing something that could get you or her killed. You are going to have to trust me to handle this."

Kwangsoo put his head in his hands. "I can't lose her. This is all my fault. If I had never gone to that loan shark to begin with, she would not be in this trouble."

Ironside smiled to put his son-in-law at ease. "Nor would she be here right now and she would not have had the opportunity to marry you. I want you to know that I approve of the marriage and I approve of you."

"How can you? I have treated you very poorly."

"And I have not always respected your customs. I promise you I will do a better job in the future."

"No, it is I who have not respected American customs. I should have immediately taken you up on your offer. I could finish school quickly and would be able to take care of Chong. I should have respected her desire to work. I have messed up everything."

Ironside could see tears in his son-in-law's eyes. "We all mess up, Kwangsoo. We're human. The most important thing is that we learn from our mistakes. I promise you I will find Chong and bring her back to you safely."

Kwangsoo was too emotional to say anything further. He just nodded his head.

Ironside pulled two pictures out of his suit coat pocket. He passed them through the bars to Kwangsoo. They were pictures of Billy Morton and Davie Freeman. "Are either one of these men the ones that assaulted you at the apartment?"

Kwangsoo looked at the pictures. He shook his head. "I just don't know. They hit me as I came in. I did not really get a very good look at either one of them. I was hit from behind. I only got a glimpse of the one man. It could have been this one, but I couldn't swear to it. I just did not see him well enough to identify him." He handed the picture of Billy Morton back to him.

It was a long shot. Ironside knew that before he came in. He had to try anyway. His cell phone in his pocket began ringing. The chief pulled it out, answered it and announced, "Ironside."

"Chief, it's Ed. We just picked up Billy Morton."


	18. Chapter 18

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 18

1

"Kwangsoo, I have to go. We now have Billy Morton in custody. I promise you, I will find Chong. Try not to worry." He looked the young man straight in the eye. "Trust me. I will not let Donnie Walker harm her. I have to go." Ironside turned his chair around and wheeled away from his son-in-law's cell.

"Father," Kwangsoo called after him.

Robert Ironside stopped his chair and turned to look back at the lad. "Yes."

"I trust you."

Ironside smiled, nodded and then left the jail. As he left, he turned down the hall towards the elevator. The chief was in a hurry to get back to his office. Billy Morton, no doubt, knew exactly where Chong was being held. The man did not know it yet, but he was going to tell him where that was. Ironside had no intentions of allowing him to remain silent.

When he reached the elevator, he pressed the button for his floor. The doors opened. The detective turned his chair around and backed into the elevator. Once settled, he pressed the button for the top floor. The ride up took forever, at least it was how it felt to a man who was trying to save his daughter from what would be certain death as soon as Donnie Walker found out Billy Morton was in custody.

When the doors to the elevator opened again, Ironside wheeled out, turned left and headed for his office. He could not get there fast enough. When he reached the door to his office, Mark opened the door from inside before Ironside had a chance to do so. Without greeting his aid, the chief wheeled past him and down the ramp, slowing his chair as he descended.

Sitting at the table was Billy Morton. Ironside could not help but notice that he looked like a cornered rat. He had an almost look of horror on his face, one that worsened when he saw the wheelchair detective come down the ramp. He had never wanted to see the day when he had to deal with this man. Billy had heard so many stories about him. Certainly, some of them were nothing but legend, yet Morton was not stupid. One did not get the reputation Ironside had without earning it.

The former chief of detectives wheeled over to the table and parked his wheelchair right next to Billy Morton. The thug looked down and away from him. The chief said nothing; he simply sat there staring at Morton, waiting for him to look up at him again. Curiosity sooner or later would get the best of him. The longer he put it off, the more intimidation Ironside could apply.

Morton finally did look up as Ironside knew he would. He met the detective's eyes. It was worse than he had ever heard it described. The man had large, steely blue eyes. The glare he displayed gave one the impression he could look directly through you. Morton wanted to look away, but he would not do it. Ironside would take it as a sign of weakness. Billy wasn't weak and no cripple was going to make him appear to be so, especially not in front of all these people. He could hold Ironside's glare. Billy would not give into him. After all, he was a cripple. He could not even get out of the wheelchair. Ironside was surrounded by cops protecting him. How tough could he really be?

Billy wasn't sure if he believed that or if he was trying to convince himself he did. At any rate, he would sit there and allow Ironside to break the silence. And break it he did.

"Mister Morton, I am only going to say this once. You are in a hell of a lot of trouble. The only way you are going to lessen the sentence you are going to get is to cooperate." Ironside said nothing more, allowing his words to sink in.

"Cooperate with what? All I know is a couple of your pigs came up behind me and told me you wanted to see me. You can't keep me here, Ironside. I have done nothing wrong." His face and demeanor betrayed how scared he really was.

"Don't insult my intelligence, Mister Morton, which by the way is considerably much higher than yours. I am not the one facing kidnapping and murder charges," Ironside said.

"Murder and kidnapping? You must be joking. I did not kidnap anyone and I certainly have not killed anyone. You are bluffing. You are trying to get me to confess to something I did not do. If your daughter has been kidnapped, you will have to look elsewhere for the culprit," he said.

Ironside was silent for a moment which seemed to unnerve Billy Morton even more. Finally, he said quietly, "I didn't say anything about Chong being kidnapped." Ironside continued to stare at Morton.

"It is all over the news. Everyone has heard about it." Billy tried to cover up, but then questioned why he should. Ironside could not prove he had anything to do with it. He was just trying to find a way to trip him up. Well, he was not about to allow him to do that.

"Ed? Has it been on the news?" Ironside asked his sergeant without taking his eyes off Morton.

"Not really, Chief. There are a few that know, but they don't want to let on they do because they want to be the first to report it."

"That is a lie!" Morton shouted. "I saw all those reporters on the way up here. Some of them had television cameras and they work for local networks. Nice try, Ironside. It isn't going to work. I don't know anything about your daughter's kidnapping. Maybe you should ask Kwangsoo Yung. I hear you have him locked up here." Morton's face turned into a smirk.

"He is here of his own free will," Ironside bluffed. "Kwangsoo is not under arrest; he is under police protection. Your boss has been trying to collect money from him. In the process, he has involved Chong to force him to pay. You are one of his collectors. I can prove by informants on the street that you have been trying to collect from my son-in-law. If anything happens to Chong, you will be charged with first-degree murder along with your boss."

Ironside watched Morton. He said nothing further. He simply sat there and stared at him. He knew the effect he could have on thugs just by sitting there and sweating them, which included the famous Ironside glare.

Morton was trying to hold back the panic. Donnie Walker had been good to him. He had trusted him with every aspect of his business, and Billy had shared in the profits. Walker had promised him he would pay him handsomely if he kept his mouth shut. When he got out of prison, he would have a very large sum of money waiting for him for his loyalty. Billy had no doubt he would do exactly that. Walker awarded loyalty. The problem was when he got out of prison would he be charged with murder? If he was right, he would never get out of prison for her murder. Donnie had every intention of killing Ironside's foster daughter. She was not getting out of this alive. It was to be Ironside's punishment for his interference in his businesses.

Walker had planned on building an empire in San Francisco. Unfortunately, he had underestimated Robert Ironside every step of the way. That was the problem with people like Walker. They came into the city, and what they saw was a cripple in a wheelchair. They had no idea what Ironside was capable of. He was formidable and was not a man to mess with. The only way to deal with the detective was to stay under his radar. That alone was not easy. There wasn't much Ironside couldn't find out if he wanted to. He was relentless. Walker should not have gone after Kwangsoo Yung for the interest on the money he owed the previous loan shark. It had been his first big mistake. That paled in comparison to the mistake he made when he went after Chong. Walker should have known it would only serve to enrage the detective. Because of not listening to advice, he had lost not only his collecting business but also his bar and restaurant.

What if Walker did kill Ironside's daughter? Could he actually be charged with murder as well? He was not familiar with the law so he did not know if Ironside was bluffing. Billy had been pulled in by cops before. They could say and do just about anything. If you didn't have a lawyer, they would trick you into saying things that hurt you in the long run.

Billy did not want to go to prison for the rest of his life. If Ironside was telling the truth about him being charged with murder, despite the fact he didn't commit it, then the promise of money when he finished his sentence would be of no use to him.

"Well, Mister Morton, what will it be?" Ironside barked at him. "Are you going to jail for the rest of your life for murder, or are you going to cooperate and tell me where Walker is holding Chong?"

Billy had to know if Ironside was bluffing. "You can't charge me with murder if Donnie kills her. I have an alibi. I am here with you."

"Are you trying to tell me the law, Mister Morton?" The chief looked over at his sergeant. "Tell him, Ed."

"Despite trying to disguise your voice when you gave Chong that beating, we have ways of identifying it. Your voice print is like a fingerprint. We can prove you were one of the two men in that video your boss sent us. He has been around. We have no doubt he knew that when he had you film her beating. Didn't you wonder why he did not place himself in the video? So, if Walker kills Chong, you become an accessory to murder. The chief is right; you will go to prison for the rest of your life. The district attorney could even ask for the death penalty. He probably will."

The expression on Morton's face changed immediately. The panic there was clearly showing. Billy did not want to go to prison, let alone die of a lethal injection. What good would Donnie's money do him if he went to jail for the rest of his life? Nor could he spend it if he was dead. Donnie would probably turn on him if it was the other way around. He proved that when he murdered Brian James. Oh, God! Could he be charged with that murder as well? No way was he going to protect Walker. He had to try to make a deal with Ironside.

"If I help you, what kind of deal will you give me?"

Ironside shook his head. "No deal. You are going to jail. How long depends on you. If you cooperate, the district attorney may just not ask for the death penalty."

Morton was going to give in. He had no choice and he knew it. There was nothing else he could do. Billy was beginning to regret the day he ever decided to work for Donnie Walker. The man was simply too high on himself. He had declared himself a god. Walker thought no one could touch him. Probably no one could...until he ran into Ironside. The Ironman on Wheels, that is what everyone called him. They should have stayed out of his way, but Donnie had decided to take him head-on. Billy was beginning to see he was not the brilliant man he thought him to be. His decision was made. Life in prison was better than being dead. Who knows, with the screwed up penal system, he just might get out eventually. He would take his chance with Ironside. Donnie Walker could do nothing for him now.

"Alright, I will tell you where she is on the condition you tell the district attorney I cooperated with you."

"We'll tell him," Ironside assured him. The chief was not certain it would be of any help to Morton as Paul Mantee was a social climber. Not only was he a social climber, but Ironside pegged him as a man who wanted to enter politics. He was not above taking the credit as the one who took down Donnie Walker and his men, despite the fact the chief and his people did all the leg work in bringing them to justice.

One way or the other, Ironside didn't care. He simply wanted Donnie Walker behind bars where he belonged, and he wanted to bring Chong home safely. He had to, he promised Kwangsoo he would, and Ironside kept his promises. The detective stared at Billy Morton, waiting for him to give up Chong's location.

2

Robert Duvalier looked out the front window of the car he was driving. He could not get any closer without being discovered. The young Canadian was following Donnie Walker. As his father had ordered, Robert had not let him out of his sight. When he came out of his bar-restaurant, the Montreal cop started his car. After allowing him a good distance, Robert pulled his car into the street.

He followed him through San Francisco as he headed towards the bay. Robert thought he was headed across the Golden Gate Bridge, yet he turned before he got to it. Walker drove to a string of warehouses. None of them were empty. It was a section where all warehouses were used, but not manned all of the time. Drivers would come and go as needed. What was he doing in this section of town? Duvalier was aware his father had closed Walker down completely. Why was he here at these warehouses? There could only be one explanation that he could think of. It had to be where Walker was holding Chong. He got out of his car and discreetly headed towards the warehouse he had seen Walker go in. Duvalier would confirm Walker was holding her there and call his father. Chief Ironside would then send the San Francisco Police.

Duvalier continued walking in the direction of the warehouse. It occurred to him there might be cameras set up. He stopped and headed back to his car. Call for back up, he told himself. That is what his father would want him to do. When he arrived back at the car, he pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Ironside's office phone but did not receive an answer. Where could his father be? Robert was unaware Billy Morton had been picked up, so he did not know Chief Ironside already knew the location of the warehouse.

If his father was not in his office, he might be able to reach him on his van phone. Robert dialed that number. Still, he received no answer. He had no way of knowing Ironside, along with Ed, Eve and Mark was headed his way. He decided to try his father's cell phone despite the fact he knew he rarely carried it on him. On second thought, he decided it was better if he called the police station and reported what he had seen. They knew how and where to reach Robert Ironside.

Duvalier dialed 911 and placed the phone next to his ear. Not only was there no dial tone, there wasn't any sound at all. He couldn't call for backup from where he was. Robert had to find another way. One of the warehouses must have an employee or a truck to be loaded. He headed in the opposite direction of Walker's warehouse. He had to find a way to reach his father and the police department.

A truck went barreling by him at a much faster rate of speed than it should have been in the area. Robert turned to see where it stopped. He might be able to get the driver to call the police. He started walking towards it when he saw it stop in front of the warehouse in which Walker had gone in. Robert stopped abruptly and looked for a place to conceal himself. Most of the warehouses were connected with nothing in front of them to hide behind. He could see the end of the building up ahead. The next building contained several more warehouses. Walker's warehouse was contained in it. Robert ran up and got in between the buildings.

Two men he did not recognize came out of the warehouse. One got inside of the truck and started the engine. The other helped direct him as he backed the truck into the warehouse. Robert had to get closer. He suspected if Chong was actually on the premises, Donnie Walker was about to transport her somewhere else. Duvalier could not let that happen. If Walker was moving her, he intended on killing her. Why didn't he put his phone on the charger in the car? He would be able to reach his father and let him know what was going on here.

Detective Robert Duvalier had no choice. He had to find out if Chong was in that warehouse, and if she was, it was up to him to stop Walker from harming her.

3

"This is Ironside. Every available unit is to report to the San Francisco Warehouses near the Golden Gate. It is suspected Chong Yung is being held there by Donnie Walker. No one is to move in without a direct order from me."

Nearby units began reporting in and letting Ironside know they were available to assist. As Mark pulled the van into the only entrance of the warehouse property, Ironside instructed him to park alongside the first building containing several warehouses. He wanted nothing more than to charge in and save Chong. However, his police instincts prevented him from doing so. It could get her killed. As soon as the black and whites began to arrive, he bottled up the entrance. Walker wasn't going anywhere. He could stop him from leaving, that was a given. What he could not guaranty was whether he would kill Chong in retaliation. If only he could get a man closer. What he did not know was Robert was prepared to enter Walker's warehouse.

Ironside had attempted to contact his son but to no avail. He either had his phone off or it had gone dead. The detective had hoped Robert had followed Walker here and would be able to tell him what the situation was inside. Unfortunately, Robert was nowhere in sight. Then out of the corner of his eye, the chief spotted his son come from between two of the large buildings and head for the entrance of Walker's warehouse.


	19. Chapter 19

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 19

1

"Boss, Ironside picked up Billy," Davie Fryman informed Donnie Walker.

"I know that! Damn Ironside! That son-of-a-bitch is going to pay! He has completely destroyed my business. He's not going to get away with it." Walker looked over to the far side of the warehouse where Chong Yung was being held. Ironside may have succeeded in destroying his entire empire, but he wasn't going to get away with it scot-free. He was going to pay for what he'd done. When he got through with that damn cripple, he was going to wish he'd never tangled with him. Walker intended to make sure of it.

Billy would keep his mouth shut. He knew Donnie would take care of him. Walker had made that clear on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, Ironside had seen to it that his accounts were frozen. Donnie couldn't even transfer money into his account to assure him it would be there when he got out of prison.

Walker worried Ironside would find some way to tie Brian James' murder to Billy. If he did that, all bets were off. Even the strongest of men would falter. Billy would roll over on him. He probably already had. Donnie had made the mistake of trusting his men, thinking they'd be loyal as long as the money was there. But, what good was money if you were sitting in a jail cell for the rest of your life? He wouldn't even be able to get to Morton to silence him. Ironside would see to that. Donnie doubted anyone could get near him except the guards at the jail cell. There would be no repeat of Brian James.

Donnie looked around the warehouse. He'd been using it the whole time he'd been in San Francisco. If anyone got too close to his operation, they were brought here to deal with and then dumped. Now, he had one more to deal with. Only this time, no one was going to kill Chong Yung. That pleasure would be his alone. After he killed her, he was leaving San Francisco. There wasn't any way he could stay here now. In the past when he had to change his identity, he turned to a friend from New York who specialized in phony identification. He could even provide him with a new social security number and a phony past background. Donnie had to do it once before. His real name wasn't even Walker. Of all the names in the world, he had been born a Smith. Now, he would have to decide what name he would use. He would also have to choose where to move his business. If only he could get his hands on that damn cripple!! He would prefer to kill him, but he would never get the chance. Ironside was too well guarded by cops in his building. The coward didn't even have his own place to live in.

Donnie walked over to the nearest window and looked out. The sun was shining and looked like a great big orange ball in the sky. The weather in San Francisco agreed with him. The thought of having to leave it behind only served to anger him further. Of all the cities he'd operated in, San Francisco was his favorite and now he had to leave. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Ironside was going to pay with the life of his foster daughter.

2

Robert Duvalier noticed the camera on the side of the building. More importantly, he could see it wasn't very well placed. Similar to the mirrors on an automobile, the camera had a blind spot. Navigating carefully to stay in the blind spot, Robert slipped past the poorly set up surveillance system and checked the door. He couldn't believe Donnie Walker could have eluded police authorities for so long. If Walker were going to kill Chong in this warehouse, then why in the world would he leave the door unlocked to enable entrance to anyone off the street.

Suddenly, Robert stopped. What if this was a trap? Could there be another camera on the other side of the door? The young Canadian hesitated. He had no idea how many men might be on the inside. He could easily be walking into a trap. Getting into the warehouse seemed all too easy. Spotting a window just a few feet away, he decided to check it out first. After glancing at the camera, he decided it didn't cover the window. That just didn't make sense. What good could only one camera do? There was more than one window in the building. Any experienced crook would've spotted the camera's blind spot without a problem.

Concerned there might be hidden cameras, he began scanning the sides of the building for them. After several minutes of checking, he saw nothing that would indicate any cameras other than the one he already knew about in use. Why would Walker use this warehouse? Anyone, including the police could raid the place without being seen until it was too late. Still feeling uneasy, with his back to the side of the building, the Canadian headed for the window.

From behind the building, a rather large dog came toward him, teeth bared and growling. If the animal started barking, he'd surely announce Robert's arrival. Frozen in position, he tried to think of a way to rid himself of the nasty beast. Robert loved dogs as much as the next person, but a guard dog who considered him an intruder was not his idea of a canine companion.

The dog was rather large, black with brown markings. His head, like his body, was blocky. Everything about him indicated a very powerful dog. Robert recognized the breed as a Rottweiler. The dog took a couple of steps closer to him. Robert backed up. The hair on the back of the dog stood straight up. He wasn't backing off an inch.

Now, Robert knew why there weren't any cameras other than the one on the front of the building. They didn't need them. Not taking his eyes off the dog, he watched as another Rottweiler, this one bigger than the first, came around the corner of the back of the building. Now Robert had two snarling dogs in front of him. The window was no longer an option. He'd never get into the building before the two dogs attacked him. He began backing away slowly. Each step he took backward, the dogs took one forward. Robert wondered why they hadn't attacked him. They must've been trained only to chase an intruder off the property.

As Robert continued to back up, the Rottweilers continued to step forward. Duvalier reached the end of the building. When he did, the dogs stopped snarling. Both sat down, keeping a watchful eye on him. The windows were now out of the question. He imagined the other side of the building would bring two more of the brutes to stop him. The only way into the warehouse was directly through the front doors. Robert knew he should find a phone and call for backup. If he managed to get out of this situation unharmed, facing his father certainly wouldn't be pleasant. He'd get a lecture he wouldn't soon forget.

But, he had no choice. If he left, Walker might kill Chong. If he went into the warehouse, he would probably be discovered on the surveillance system. He didn't hesitate. He couldn't let Walker harm Chong. Robert entered the warehouse.

3

Davie Fryman chewed on the wad of tobacco he had shoved to the right side of his mouth. He'd always hated cigarette smoke, and this was a nice alternative. Davie had always loved the taste of tobacco.

Walker had assigned him to keep an eye on the video monitor. If he saw anyone, he was to inform Walker immediately. Fryman couldn't figure out what was taking Donnie so long to kill the woman. The longer they hung around here, the bigger the chance Ironside would find out where they were. After all, they had picked up Billy Morton. Davie didn't believe for a second that Billy would be as loyal as Donnie thought. Hell, even Davie would turn on Walker if it meant not getting the death penalty. Life in prison wouldn't be that bad, not from his point of view. Three meals a day, a place to sleep, and guys with similar backgrounds . Hell yes, he'd turn on Walker in a heartbeat. The only reason he'd stuck around this long was that Donnie had promised him a very large cash bonus to stay and help him dispose of Ironside's daughter. Davie was worried Donnie's hatred for Ironside was clouding his judgement. They should just kill her and get out of here. Once he received the cash Walker had promised him, he was finished with him. He wasn't the genius he'd made himself out to be. Ironside had been a step ahead of him every step of the way. Walker lost his collecting business, his bar, and a place to live. In fact, he had nothing left.

So, how was Davie supposed to receive any money from him? He was taking a chance of getting caught. Was it all for nothing? Could Walker pay off as promised? Fryman didn't like this set-up. They should just kill her and get out before it was too late. He was about to go to Donnie and tell him how he felt when he saw something on the screen. It was quite a ways away from the warehouse. Was it what he thought it was? Oh God! It was Ironside's van!

He had been concentrating so hard on identifying the vehicle down the street he only saw a streak at the door of the warehouse. "What the hell was that?" he said out loud. Davie sat down at the desk and studied the monitor. "What a lousy security system," he grumbled. There was nothing there now. It must've been one of those mangy mutts that were patrolling the area. There was another stupid security set up. Donnie had told him the dogs would keep anyone off the property. They'd been trained to run people off. When he'd asked Walker if they were attack dogs, he told him no. They'd only chase people away by threatening them. The owner of the warehouse didn't want any lawsuits if the dogs tore someone up. What good were they if they wouldn't attack? What if someone decided to ignore them? Would they just roll over for a belly rub?

Davie decided to take a screen shot of the van which was still down the road. After he did, he enlarged the picture. Then he studied the photo. There was a black man sitting in the driver's seat. His face was not recognizable. That didn't matter to Fryman. He didn't need to see the man's facial features to know it was Ironside's aide. It only confirmed to him it was too late for them to get away. Ironside would have the place bottled up. Damn it? Why didn't he just tell Walker to go to hell? He could've been in Mexico by now.

He had to tell Walker. He left the monitor without realizing the streak he had caught out of the corner of his eye was Robert Duvalier, who was now in the building.

4

With his men in place, Chief Ironside was all but certain Donnie Walker couldn't get past them. Still, it was the unknowns that bothered him. How was Walker going to react? He'd either kill Chong right away or he'd use her as a hostage and attempt to get away. The chief figured using her as a hostage was the more likely scenario.

Fran and Ed were in the van awaiting the chief's orders. Both of them knew the stakes were high. Although the chief would always do everything he could to protect the innocent, this was different. This time the innocent involved was his foster daughter. Neither could imagine what was going through the man's mind.

"Chief, we just can't go in without knowing more about what's going on inside," Fran said.

To Ironside, a cop with more than twenty years experience, Fran's statement was obvious. He was still running scenarios over in his mind. So far, he didn't like any of them. All of them could end up in Chong being killed. It was time he made some decisions. "Ed, have you tried texting Robert's phone?"

"Fran did, Chief. He hasn't answered yet," Ed replied.

"How long ago, Fran?"

Officer Belding checked her phone. "More than twenty minutes ago. He either doesn't know he's received a text message or . . . "

"His cell phone is dead," Ironside answered for her. "Try one more time," he ordered.

Using both thumbs, Belding began typing another message to Robert. When she finished, she pressed the send icon. Her phone immediately informed her the message had been successfully sent.

After Ironside had waited for a few minutes, he looked at his officer with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

She shook her head. "The message was delivered, Chief. My phone also tells me when the message is read, but all it shows is that it was delivered."

"That's it, then," Ironside said, frustrated. "His phone is dead or he doesn't have it with him."

The police radio in the van came to life. "Chief Ironside." It was Lieutenant Carl Reese's voice.

"Yes, Carl."

"We've located the car Duvalier was driving."

"Don't tell me, you found his cell phone and it's dead," the chief said sarcastically.

"That's right, Chief. I thought you'd like to know you can't communicate with him that way."

"Thanks, Carl, stand by." Frustrated, Ironside complained, "That's exactly why police officers shouldn't depend on cell phones, or at the very least, make sure the blasted things are charged."

"Chief, what do you want to do?" Ed asked.

"Do you think you can get closer without being spotted?" he asked the sergeant.

"We can go around to the back," Brown suggested. "There's only the one camera. If we come up on them from the back of the building, they'll never see us coming."

Fran spoke up. "The officers who are covering the back of the building say there are two big black and brown dogs back there."

"Do any of our patrol cars have dart guns?" Ironside asked.

"Yes, Chief," Ed said. "We have a canine unit here. They have them."

"Good. Ed, take the unit behind the building and take those dogs out." Ironside looked his sergeant in the eye. "Knock them out. Don't kill them."

"Yes, sir." Brown opened the door to the van and got out. Before he could leave, Ironside stopped him.

"Fran, go with him. After the dogs are out of the way, find a way into the building. We can't storm the warehouse. Walker will kill Chong. Our only chance of stopping him from using Chong as a hostage is to get inside. When you do, find Robert. I want to know how many men are holding her. And for cripes sake, make sure at least one of you has a working phone."

Fran smiled as she headed to the back of the van. "My phone's always charged and working. Can you say the same, Chief?"

Ironside only grunted. It was one modern technology he wasn't wild about. He rarely carried it. The phone could usually be found on the dash of the van or in his desk in his office. Luckily, it was on the dash and fully charged.

Brown and Belding hurried toward the closest warehouse, using it as a shield for cover. When they arrived at the canine unit, they explained to the officer what the chief wanted them to do.

"Chief Ironside's already told us, Sergeant." The officer pulled a dart rifle out of the back of the vehicle and showed it to Brown. "The chief said the dogs are Rottweilers. Assuming they're average size for the breed, this will knock them out almost instantly."

Ed noticed there was another officer with him. "You two come with us. After the dogs are out, take them away. I don't want them waking up and becoming a problem."

"They won't wake up, but we'll take them away anyway," the officer told him. He pulled a second dart gun out of the vehicle and handed it to his partner.

Brown drew his service revolver and led the way down the side of the warehouse. Fran followed directly behind him. With dart rifles in hand, the canine officers brought up the rear. They reached the back of the warehouse and began crossing past the other warehouses until they reached the one in which Chong was held. The Rottweilers had been sleeping in dog houses, but came out snarling as soon as they detected the intruders.

"Take them out," Brown ordered.

"I'll take the one on the left," the officer said to the other. They pointed their dart rifles at the dogs and pulled the triggers. The Rottweilers yelped as the sharp points entered their skin. Just as the officer told them, both dogs dropped immediately.

Brown nodded at the officers, who moved in to remove the Rottweilers. He and Fran hurried swiftly to the back of the building. Stopping at the first window, Ed carefully peaked inside. He could see Chong tied in a chair. Two men were guarding her. Donnie Walker was pacing back and forth. Robert Duvalier was nowhere in sight. At least the young man was able to remain concealed. Ed whispered to Eve what he saw and told her to tell the chief. She pulled out her cell phone and sent him a text message. She hoped his cell phone, which was sitting on the dash, was, in fact, fully charged.

Sergeant Brown waved his service revolver to indicate to Fran to follow him. They headed down the side of the warehouse looking for a window they could slip into.

5

Davie Fryman approached Walker and the men guarding Chong. As soon as Donnie noticed him, he flew into a rage. "I thought I told you to monitor the video from the camera!"

Ignoring Walker's shouting, Davie calmly told him, "Ironside's here. I spotted his van down about four or five warehouses."

"That damn cripple is a pain in the ass!" Walker paced back and forth before coming to a stop. Billy must've told him where we are."

"I told you he'd talk," Fryman said.

"Never mind that now. If Ironside's here, he's not alone. He would've brought a bunch of cops with him."

"They won't come through the front door. It's covered by the camera. The dogs are in the back."

"Ironside has taken them out."

Davie shook his head. "We would've heard the shot."

"You stupid fool! Haven't you ever heard of a dart gun? Those dogs are sound asleep by now." Walker began pacing back and forth. The situation had just become more complicated. They couldn't just walk out of the warehouse with an army of police covering the place. He should've killed the cripple's daughter, called and told him where to find the body. He would be miles from here right now if he hadn't let his hatred for the cop cloud his judgement. Now, the only way out of the situation was to use the woman as a hostage.

"Are you sure it's Ironside's van?" he demanded. "Could it have been someone delivering or picking up something from one of the other warehouses?"

"I couldn't see faces from this distance, but there was a black man at the wheel," Davie told him.

"That does it. It's Ironside. That would've been his aide." Walker's anger was rising. Not only had he lost everything he'd built in San Francisco, now he was in danger of losing his freedom. Ironside would never let him get out of this warehouse, especially if he killed his daughter. Donnie had no choice but to keep her alive and use her as a bargaining chip.

Looking at Davie, he said, "Get back to your post while I figure a way out of this mess."

Fryman left immediately. When he arrived at the desk, he sat down and continued to watch the monitor. He felt a stinging pain in the back of his head as Robert Duvalier hit him with the butt of his service revolver. Robert tied him up and gagged him with some rope and tape he found in the warehouse. One down, three more to go, Duvalier thought to himself as he dragged Fryman away to conceal him where he wouldn't be seen.

Walker, unaware Fryman was no longer watching the monitor, was still pacing back and forth. It was time he called Ironside. He walked over to the phone on the wall. He dialed 911 and asked to be connected with the police department. When he received an answer, he said, "This is Donnie Walker. I have Ironside's daughter. I'm going to kill her unless you patch me through to Ironside's van."

A moment later, the familiar gruff voice answered, "Ironside."

"Shut up and listen, Chief. If you want to see your daughter alive again, you're going to drive your van up to the warehouse. Call off your men. I'll be leaving in your van and I'll have your daughter with me. If anyone tries to stop us, I'm going to kill her. Do I make myself clear?"

"You do," Ironside answered. "If any harm comes to Chong, there isn't a hole anywhere in the world you can crawl into. I'll find you. Do I make myself clear?"

Walker had no doubt he meant it, but said anyway, "You're in no position to threaten me. You see, Ironside, you're coming with us. Drive that van down here now . . . alone. Leave your driver back there. I know you can drive the van yourself. If you aren't here in five minutes, your daughter is a dead woman."


	20. Chapter 20

Joss Sticks and Murder

Chapter 20

1

Robert Ironside didn't see where he had any choice. He'd have to order his police officers to stand down. He couldn't take a chance with Chong's life. Ed and Eve were in the building and so was Robert. Unfortunately, Ironside had no idea how many men Donnie Walker had inside. Nevertheless, Ed wouldn't make a move until he had assessed the situation. He'd know exactly how many there were. The chief would have to get word to Ed and Eve what Walker had demanded. If they could prevent Walker from taking Chong out of the building, they would certainly do it.

Carl Reese watched Chief Ironside. He could imagine the turmoil the man must be feeling. Any minute now the chief was going have to order the removal of the police who were on the premises. Carl didn't want to disobey an order from the chief, but he certainly wasn't going to leave him unprotected either. Walker wanted to kill him. He probably would kill Chong as well if they didn't find a way to stop him.

Ironside picked up the police radio. "This is Ironside. All units are to stand down. Remove all vehicles from the area."

One of the units came on the radio. "Chief, did we hear you right? Did you tell us to stand down and leave the area?"

"That's what I said," Ironside responded.

"Are you sure you want us to do that, sir?" he asked.

"Are you questioning my orders?" The detective growled into the radio.

"No, sir. Just trying to confirm what you ordered," the man said.

Ironside knew the voice of the officer. He was fairly new to the department. He remembered seeing him perform at the academy. He had finished top in his class. The young officer was eager to make a name for himself. No doubt he thought rescuing the chief's daughter would do much to move his career along.

"Well, you've confirmed them! Now move out," Ironside ordered.

"Yes, sir."

The police vehicles began their pull-out. Before long there wasn't a single black and white in the area. Ironside's van was all alone in the warehouse parking lot. The chief looked at Lieutenant Reese who was still sitting in the van. "That includes you, Carl."

Reese shook his head. "Chief, he wants to kill you. If he gets past Ed and Eve, I'll be the only thing between you and him."

"Out, Carl!" Ironside roared.

"Chief! You can't expect me to leave you here alone. The man wants to kill you!"

Ironside softened his voice. "Carl, I can't take a chance with Chong's life. Ed and Eve are in there. If they can stop him, they will. You can't stay. He'll kill her if he sees you."

Carl knew he was right, but he just didn't want to leave him alone.

Mark Sanger sat in the driver's seat. He hadn't said a word. He was trying to think of something that would convince his boss that he and Carl should stay to protect him. He'd worked for the chief for a long time. He knew he would never agree to it regardless of what either of them said. Still, he kept running scenarios through his mind.

Ironside knew what he was thinking. Mark didn't want to leave any more than Carl did. This was one of the hardest things about his job. He was always touched by the concern they displayed for him, but he couldn't let them influence his decision.

"Gentlemen, get out of the vehicle," Ironside ordered.

"Chief, Walker knows I'm your driver. He won't suspect anything if I stay with you," Mark said.

"Mark, he made a point to say he knew I could drive. Now, both of you get out of the van. "

Both men knew they couldn't stay any longer. They opened the doors and got out of the vehicle. They headed for the only entrance onto the warehouse properties. Walking in silence, neither man had resigned himself to leaving the chief without protection.

"We just can't let Walker kill him," Carl said.

"I know that, Carl. But, you know the chief as well as I do. He's going to be looking in his rear view mirror to make sure we leave the premises," Mark said, clearly upset.

"Is there another entrance onto the property?"

"No."

"Is there a way we can slip past the chief and go around the buildings to the back? That way we can come up between the buildings."

"It's worth a try," Mark said.

"When the Chief pulls away, we slip behind the last building," Carl said.

"I'm hip," Mark said as he and Carl continued toward the exit waiting for the chief to drive away.

2

Ironside watched in his rear view mirror to be sure Carl and Mark left the warehouse grounds. Just as he was about to pull away, he saw them slip to their left behind the warehouse closest to the entrance. "Damn it, doesn't anyone follow orders?" He started the engine in the van, put it in gear, and drove to the warehouse where Chong was being held.

Ironside put the van in park and waited. No one came out of the warehouse. After he sat there for several minutes, he started getting impatient. What was Walker waiting for? He was beginning to believe it had all been a trap to get him to within range to kill him. Maybe he had no desire to leave. Maybe he had a death wish. Ironside would only give him a few more minutes and then he was going in.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his service revolver. Checking the chamber, the gun was fully loaded as always. It wouldn't be of much use though. There was no way Walker wouldn't search him. He would take the gun away from him. He placed it back in his pocket.

He had to depend on Ed and Eve. He wondered what the hell was going on in that warehouse. Had they found Robert? If so, once he went in it would be four of them against Walker and whatever men he brought in with him.

Ironside's patience was wearing out. He didn't know what was keeping Walker, but he wouldn't wait any longer. He backed his chair into the lift and pressed the button. The door on the right side of the van opened and the tray dropped. The chief wheeled his chair onto it and pressed another button. The big detective was lowered to the ground.

He began wheeling toward the entrance of the warehouse, stopping only long enough to pull the gun from his suit coat pocket once again. Stopping just at the side of the door, Ironside looked inside. He didn't see Donnie Walker anywhere. Why hadn't he met him at the door? What was he up to? He had no choice but to wheel further into the warehouse. He would find Walker eventually. He couldn't get out of the building with Eve, Ed, and Robert inside.

Robert Duvalier watched as his father wheeled his wheelchair into the warehouse. He cursed himself for allowing his cellphone to die. He could've told his father what was going on. He was about to reveal his presence when Sergeant Ed Brown and Eve Whitfield approached Ironside.

"He's in the back, Chief. He left two men with Chong. They're both armed. We couldn't move in without endangering her safety. It's your call. What do you want to do?"

Donnie Walker came out from behind warehouse contents stacked higher than the men were tall. He was followed by the two men who had been guarding Chong. All three had guns pointed directly at Ironside, Ed, and Eve. "I would appreciate if all three of you would drop your guns. That includes you, Chief. I know you're carrying."

With three guns on them, Eve and Ed had no choice. They threw their guns to the floor. Ironside set his gun on the floor and pushed it toward Walker. He hoped like hell his plan would work. So far, Robert hadn't revealed himself. That was exactly what the detective had hoped for.

Robert Duvalier watched the scene unfold in front of him. Chong would be alone. He hoped his father would do his usual job of stalling. It would give him time to help his foster sister. Quietly, he left the scene and headed back to where Chong had been left tied in the chair. When he arrived, he could see the relief of recognition in her eyes. Robert put his finger to his lips to indicate she should be silent.

He walked over to her, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his pocket knife. After pulling the blade out of its compartment, Robert moved behind Chong. Careful not to cut her, he sliced through the rope which was binding her hand. He then did the same with her feet. Robert removed the gag and whispered, "Papa is here, but he's being held at gunpoint. I'm going to get you out of here."

"No, Robert, you must help Father!" Chong protested.

"I am going to help him, but he would want me to get you out of here first." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement in the window. Robert eased his way over to the window. From the side, he looked outside. Mark and Carl were there looking for a way into the building. Robert tapped on the window.

Mark looked up to see Robert at the window. Relieved to see he was unharmed, Sanger mouthed, "What about Chong?"

Robert didn't need to read his lips to know what he was asking. He motioned for Chong to come to the window. As soon as Mark and Carl saw she was alive and moving under her own power, Carl indicated for Robert to break the window.

Robert didn't like the idea, but he saw no other way to get her out. The windows didn't open, and from his exploration of the warehouse, he knew the only other way out was through the front door. He certainly couldn't get her out that way. He nodded in acknowledgement and waved his gun at Mark and Carl to indicate for them to move back. Using his elbow, he smashed it into the window. It shattered with most of the glass flying outside. Some of it hit the floor in front of Robert. He also knew there had been enough noise to alert Donnie Walker something was up.

Robert used his gun to clear the rest of the glass from the window. After he was sure he could get Chong out without cutting her, he turned and said. "Come, Chong. I'll lift you to the window. Mark is on the other side. He'll help you down." He noticed Carl had disappeared, probably to join in the fight at the front of the warehouse.

Robert easily lifted Chong who gently slipped through the window and jumped down into the waiting arms of Mark Sanger. As soon as Robert was certain she was safe, he left the scene quietly to join his father.

At the sound of the window crashing, Donnie and his two men instinctively turned toward the sound. That was all Ed, Eve, and the chief needed. Ed dove toward the weapons on the floor. He shoved one in Eve's direction and kicked the other in the chief's.

Ironside didn't have time to pick up the gun. He had to find cover quickly. From behind him, Lieutenant Reese entered the building. The chief concealed himself behind a huge stack of boxes. Looking at the door, he decided he couldn't wheel fast enough to get out of the building and let his officer handle the situation. Glancing again, he knew if he could get out there was another gun in the van. He waited to see if the opportunity would present itself. He certainly couldn't go after his own gun that was lying in the middle of the floor.

Walker and his two men scrambled to get behind crates for protection. A bullet from Ed's gun whizzed past Walker's ear, but missed him. He knew Walker would be aware he would have to watch his back as well. Robert was behind him and his men. That would provide a distraction for him and Eve to get closer. He saw Carl enter the building. That made it four against Walker and his two men. If only the chief could've had time to pick up his revolver. But, Donnie Walker knew the chief was unarmed. And, he would try to get to him so he could use him against them. Brown was determined not to allow it.

The bullets flew around the warehouse as Walker and his men returned fire. Walker figured one of his men had gotten to Ironside's daughter. Meanwhile, he was penned in from the back. Someone was shooting at him. Off to the side, Brown and Whitfield were shooting. Ironside was not shooting. He had moved behind boxes and crates immediately. The cop hadn't taken the time to pick up his gun, probably because Walker would have put a bullet in his head. He was happy now that he didn't. Getting past Ironside was his only way out of the warehouse now. He couldn't use his daughter. Donnie doubted she was still in the building.

Moving to his left, a bullet embedded in the crate beside him. Walker jumped back behind the crates for protection. The only sure way for him was forward where Ironside was sitting. If Donnie could manage to get to the front door of the building, he might just be able to get away.

He watched as one of his men ran from behind the crates. The coward was running for the door to save his skin. Sergeant Brown reached around the crates, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The man fell to the floor with a bullet in his chest. That left only the other man. And, Donnie had no idea where Davie Fryman was. He hadn't seen him since he sent him back to watch the computer monitor. A lot of good that had done! Walker had discovered he was gone when he went to tell him he wanted to know as soon as Ironside was in the building.

So, he ended up watching for the detective himself. At least by doing so, it had drawn out his officers who somehow got in without him knowing. Damn Davie! That never should have happened. He could have sent the men to take them out before they did any damage. He looked around the crates. He could tell where Ironside's officers were from the direction the bullets were coming. Donnie had to get to Ironside. It was his only chance of getting out of the warehouse. His people would back off if Ironside was his prisoner.

Peering carefully around the crates, Donnie waiting for his man to shoot at Brown and Whitfield. He had seen one other cop enter the building. They were up against at least three . . . no four. There was a man behind him; the one who broke the window and probably got Ironside's daughter out of the warehouse. Donnie figured if he stayed behind the crates, he could avoid being shot by the three cops. It was the one behind him he was worried about. He would have to expose himself to that man when he made a break for Ironside. Still, he had no choice. If he tried for the door, he was certain one of Ironside's people would shoot him. He would be in a wide-open area on the way out of the warehouse.

Walker waited. His man had an automatic weapon and was doing a fine job of holding off the three cops. As soon as he started spraying them with bullets again, he would make his move.

As Robert made his way toward the man with the automatic weapon, his father's safety was on his mind. There were only the two men left. The one with the automatic weapon could keep Ed and Eve at bay for quite a while. And, sooner or later he was bound to make a run for the front door. He had to be taken out if all of them were going to get out of the warehouse alive.

Ed was pinned down and so were Eve and Carl. His main worry was Walker getting to the chief. He reached into his pocket and dialed the man in charge of the other cops. Explaining the situation to him, he requested backup. If they could hold off the man with that weapon until then, they'd have Walker and his thug way outnumbered. The S.W.A.T. team could take him out.

Being careful to remain hidden behind the head-high crates, Donnie Walker moved toward Ironside. He figured he'd still be in the same spot as there wasn't any way the man could wheel out of the warehouse without being seen. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the cripple. He'd made up his mind. Ironside wasn't getting out the warehouse alive. Donnie had never wanted to kill anyone this badly in his entire life. Ironside didn't know it yet, but he was as good as dead.

He peeked out from behind the crates. As he did, a spray of bullets from Brown, Whitfield and Ironside's other man, whom he didn't know, hit the crate he was hiding behind. They were determined to keep him away from Ironside. He was just as determined to get to him. When the shooting stopped, he made a run for the next set of crates. Bullets started flying again, but with his man and an automatic weapon shooting at the cops, he made it with ease. Just one more set of crates.

The S.W.A.T team arrived and began moving into the building. The man with the automatic weapon decided he had to make a move to get out of the building. "Donnie, let's get out of here!" He made a run for the door, but didn't get far. Ed Brown shot him. He lifted his weapon toward the sergeant, forgetting about Whitfield and Reese. Both of them fired. He went down; his automatic weapon fell to the ground a few feet away.

Ed, Eve, and Carl gathered together. Reese, being the superior officer, sent Ed in one direction, Eve in another, and he went in head on. Unfortunately, all three had to stop when they realized Walker had reached the chief. Reese ordered the S.W.A.T. team to move in and take Walker out. They didn't get the opportunity.

"Hello, Ironside," Walker said as he came up on the detective. "You may have stopped me from killing your daughter, but you're the bigger prize anyway. You ruined everything for me. I've lost everything. No cop does that to me."

"Apparently, I did, and I am a cop," the chief said boldly.

"It's the last thing you'll ever do. I have no intention of allowing your men to take me alive, and I intend to take you with me." He raised his gun and pointed it at Ironside, but he never got off the shot. A gun fired from behind him hitting him in the back. He went down, dead as he fell to the floor. With his body no longer blocking his view, Ironside saw Robert Duvalier with his gun raised.

"It's about time you showed up," Ironside said.

"Robert smiled. "You're welcome."

3

Ed Brown walked into the jail. "Chief Ironside said to release Kwangsoo Yung."

"Yeah, Ed, we know. He called down after he sent you," Charlie told him. He grabbed the keys from the desk and unlocked the gate leading to the cells. Ed followed him back.

When they arrived, Kwangsoo was pacing in his cell. When Ed came into view, he immediately came to the bars and demanded, "Chong?"

Ed smiled. "She's fine, Kwangsoo. She's upstairs with the chief."

The young man looked around. "Then may I leave here?"

"Yes. There weren't any charges against you. The chief only held you here to keep you out of his hair and protect you. Come on, I'll take you to Chong."

Kwangsoo anxiously followed Sergeant Brown. They took the elevator up to the floor where Ironside's office was located. As soon as the doors opened, he ran out, up the ramp, and opened the door to his father-in-law's office. Chong was sitting next to Ironside. She got up and ran into Kwangsoo's arms.

"I am so sorry, Chong. This was all my fault," he said with tears in his eyes."

She pushed back from his arms and looked sternly into his eyes. "No, this was all Walker's fault. But he will not bother us anymore. Father has taken care of him."

"He isn't in jail," Kwangsoo said, confused. "I just came from there. They didn't bring him in there."

"No, Father said they took him to the morgue," she explained.

"Morgue? Then he is dead?" the young man inquired.

"Yes!" She pointed at Robert. "My brother shot him. He was trying to kill Father."

"I am happy he failed," Kwangsoo said. He looked at Chong once again. "I am sorry for my behavior. If you want to work, that is fine with me. You can go to school, if you would like."

"Really, you don't mind?" She said excitedly.

"No, I don't mind. You were right. We are in America now. We need to respect the customs of the American people."

"Oh, Kwangsoo, I am so happy!"

Kwangsoo nodded and let go of Chong. He walked over to Robert Ironside. Without looking at the detective, he continued to stare down at the floor. "I owe you an apology, Father. I have blamed you for the Americanization of Chong, when I should have realized we moved here for the opportunities our home country couldn't provide us. You kept your promise and brought her back to me. I don't know how you can even stand to look at me."

In a gentle voice, Ironside said, "Kwangsoo, sit down." Pushing his chair back slightly, he pulled out a chair and indicated for him to sit. Chong sat down next to the detective. "I understand how hard it has been for you to adjust to American customs. You want to take care of Chong and I understand that, too. In fact, I expect you to. You just need to be a bit more understanding about what she wants as well. And, as far as looking at you, you are my son." Kwangsoo noticed he didn't say son-in-law. "I care about you as well. That's why I locked you up. I was aware you were out of your mind over Chong. I needed to get you out of my way, so I could do my job. I hope you will forgive me for that."

Kwangsoo smiled. "There is nothing to forgive. I understand. I promise I will be a better son in the future, and I will listen to Chong from now on. We are Americans now. I also want you to know I no longer object to you adopting Chong, legally that is."

"Ironside smiled. "We were just talking about that. The paperwork has come through. We have to be in court next Thursday."

Kwangsoo nodded. Still, he could not look directly at Ironside. He was silent for a moment before saying, "Does the offer to loan me the money for school still stand?"

"Of course, it does," Ironside said.

"Then I accept. I will concentrate on finishing school so Chong can go to school when I am done," Kwangsoo said.

Chong put her arms around Kwangsoo. "Do you really mean it?"

"Yes, of course. You should have the American opportunity as well."

"Well, now that all that is settled . . . Mark, how about starting dinner? The old man's hungry!" Ironside shouted.

"Just a minute, Mark," Kwangsoo said. He finally raised his eye and met Ironside's blue ones. "I would like to take you, Chong, and Robert out to dinner. I owe you that much."

Ironside smiled. "Then we shall go out to dinner. Mark, call Katherine and tell her to meet us at the Wharf." He looked back at Kwangsoo. "But I'm buying, and if it's all right with you, Ed, Eve, Mark, and Carl will join us."

Kwangsoo smiled, relieved he didn't have to pay for dinner. He wasn't sure he had enough money in the first place. "That is fine with me."

"Well, then, what are we all waiting for?" Ironside said, raising his voice and wheeling his chair toward the ramp. He stopped long enough to look over his shoulder. "I've been looking forward to a hamburger all day."

"Hamburgers?!" Mark, Eve, Ed and Carl all said at the same time.

"Do they even serve hamburgers there?" Eve asked.

"They do. I checked. So let's go," Ironside said.

"I save your life and all I get is a hamburger," Robert said with a smile.

"You should be glad I drew you to me. You could have been shot in the crossfire with the S.W.A.T team. Therefore, I saved your life." Ironside grinned at his son.

"Wouldn't you know he'd find a way to take credit?" Mark said shaking his head.

"We didn't have a thing to do with it," Ed said.

Robert and Chong laughed and followed their father out of his office.

The End

Thank you to JourneyThroughTime for proofing most of this story and to Eternal Crush Haver for taking over as my beta.

Another Ironside story is already in the works. It may be a bit before it is published as it gives away the conclusion of The Case of the Stolen Artifact.


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